Harry Potter and the New Start
by Stars Enchantress
Summary: Sirius leaves Azkaban when Harry is just a baby. Will he steal Harry from the neglectful Dursleys? And if he does, will they be able to stay hidden? Especially with a wise Headmaster, a shattered werewolf and a very much alive traitor looking for them.
1. That Night

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **That Night

Hello everyone. This is my first HP fanfiction. The basic premise of this story is what would happen if Sirius had gotten out of Azkaban just a little earlier? Okay, how about twelve years earlier?

First off, I do NOT own Harry, Sirius or anything that you recognize. I own the plot, and that's about it. I'm not going to write this out for every chapter. But I am putting a disclaimer into my profile, so that should do it!

All will be explained soon!

**------------------------------------Azkaban Fortress**

The dementors glided along the cells silently. They never made any noise. But in Azkaban, it was hardly ever quiet. The screams of the prisoners took care of that. Especially in the top-security cells.

In Azkaban you went mad within the first few months. There were some that lasted but weeks. But without any shadow of a doubt – you were insane by the first year. The dementors sucked the happiness right out of you. They made you believe that you would never be happy again.

Which, for Sirius Black, wasn't something the dementors needed to remind him of.

His best friend and surrogate twin was gone. James had trusted him. His judgment. They thought their plan was so foolproof, that not even the fool Peter Pettigrew could wreck it. Lily had trusted the plan and they performed the switch.

Voldemort had been after the group of friends for quite some time. Sirius Black and James Potter were two of the best aurors that had ever lived. Actually, they were probably only second and third to Alastor Moody. But when you placed them together as a team, there was nothing they couldn't handle. Lily Evans Potter was part of a charms squad, which also fought Voldemort. She was just as much of a thorn in Voldemort's side as James and he had been. Their other best friend, Remus Lupin, had been well on the way to aligning the side of the light with the werewolves, being that he himself was too one. This would have taken one of Voldemort's most promising allies away from him.

The fourth of their friends – rounding out the infamous group of pranking Marauders, was Peter Pettigrew. His job, while with the Ministry of Magic, was just a desk job filing papers. He did nothing in the fight against the Dark Lord.

That should have been a hint right there. 

But in the end, it wasn't James and Lily that Voldemort really wanted. It had been little Harry Potter.

Sirius sighed at the thought of his sweet little godson. Harry had been the light of the group. Their angel sent to help them through the hard dark times. What Lily and James had been thinking when they had made him godfather to such a beautiful baby boy was beyond Sirius. 

At first it seemed that Harry wasn't going to be in danger. At that point there had been far more people further up on Voldemort's hit list than the Potters. But that didn't mean that little Harry wasn't a remarkable baby. Because he was. And that wasn't just the proud godfather in him talking.

Even early on Harry showed some pretty advanced intelligence for a little baby. But it was the power that the child had that had even shocked Albus Dumbledore. Sirius had made the massive mistake of letting Harry hold his wand. Needless to say it took Madame Pomfrey, the Hogwarts school nurse, and a rather amused Arabella Figg, Lily's best friend, an hour to sort out all the curses, hexes and charms that Harry had set on James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

After her nose had been shrunk to a far more manageable size, Lily had been far from pleased with Sirius's actions. But instead of threatening to kill him like any other feisty mother would have, she threatened to cut him off from Harry.

While it was an odd threat, it was the most powerful one there was. Sirius adored his godson. There was nothing that he wouldn't do for the child. Many people were often confused whether Sirius or James himself was the child's father.

The mere thought of his sweet godson with Lily's muggle relatives was enough to make him want to cry.

The dementors glided away outside of his door and Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard to believe how quickly things changed. One month ago, one short month, he had been sitting in his best friend's sitting room playing with Harry. Lily had been cooking and James had been reading over something that Dumbledore had sent his way.

Something, no doubt, that involved the Fidelius Charm. The amazingly complex charm was the last hope of the Potters. It would enable them to hide in plain sight. That had been the start of their plan.

The start of the end.

The information of the Potter's location would be placed in one person, and only that person could divulge it. The natural choice had been Sirius. And everyone knew it. Sirius Black and James Potter had been inseparable since their school days. Best of friends. Everyone knew that.

Everyone, including Lord Voldemort. Once the charm would be performed, Voldemort would be after Sirius and there was no way that he could guarantee that he would be able to keep the secret if tortured long enough. Which is why, as much as Sirius wanted to be the one to keep Lily, James and Harry safe, he couldn't be the one to do it.

Naturally, the next choice would have been Remus. But Sirius had been almost convinced that Remus was the traitor. If it wasn't Sirius himself, and it wasn't a talent less thing like Peter then it had to be Remus. No matter how much James, Lily and Sirius hadn't wanted to believe it.

But in the end, it had been Peter. He was the traitor.

The next part of the story was etched in his mind and there was no need to go over it again. Lily was dead, James was dead. And he, Sirius Black was now one of the most feared wizards of all time.

And his godson was the only person in the world who could defeat Voldemort. That little dark haired green-eyed baby just barely a year old was the wizarding world's savior.

Which is all the more reason to not allow him to grow up with Lily's vile sister and her porky husband and child. Lily had told him enough horror stories to know how they would treat Harry. Unfortunately she hadn't told those horror stories to Dumbledore.

There was no way he could ignore his responsibility of godfather. Especially with Peter Pettigrew out there, still alive. No one was even looking for little Wormtail.

He had to protect Harry. Teach him to be a marauder, to be a fighter. To be his father's son.

With that thought floating in his head it gave Sirius a sense of purpose. Not a happy though, but a determined one. Something that the dementors of Azkaban couldn't steal from him.

Sirius stared at the bars of his own personal hell. It was far too thin for him to slip though, purposefully so. But it was dinner soon. And animals were so much harder for dementors to sense....

Why hadn't he thought of it before?

Padfoot was an animal. He'd been using his animagus to deal with the dementors. Why not slip past them at dinner?

For the first time since that Halloween night at Godric's Hallow, Sirius Black smiled.

****

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This is more of a recap chapter. But the next one is where things veer off from the book. Obviously, since the star is a year old baby. But still, you understand. You'll all see how the lovely Dursleys (gag) have been treating Harry next.

Is there an interest for this story to continue? Would you all like to see me update? Please let me know. **Review!**


	2. The Evil That Is The Dursleys

**Harry Potter and the New Start**

The Evil That is the Dursleys

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

**RandomPerson619- **_Thank you so much for the review! I will be continuing the story, so don't worry :-) _

**Kungzoune- **_I'm glad you liked the start of this. I know it was a bit like retelling of the Sirius/Potter's situation, but here's were it veers off, so I hope you continue to like it! Thanks for the review! _

**Wolfawaken- **_Now that was sheer flattery! I'm glad that you took the time to review my story, even though you aren't big on the reviewing. It means a lot to me that my chapter was deemed worthy! _

**Hermoine21- **_Thanks for the review, and here's your update! _

**Mushroom – hunter – d- **_First off, I love your name! LOL. I've no clue as to why it takes eleven years to get thin, even if you weigh a ton! Which I'm sure our dear Siri did not. I'm glad you think it's plausible, as in fanfiction it can be a bit far-fetched. Though, when writing about wizards I'm sure you get a bit more leeway. Thanks for the review!_

**BigIsTheFace- **_Your review was completely dead on, I'm glad you worded it the way you did. This idea of Sirius raising Harry is far from an original plot, and I will need to work hard to make it interesting and my own. I do hope that I manage it. And I hope that you'll think I have too! :-) _

**SkiBum- **_I love the father/son relationship too! I think I've got it in here a bit (I've written an outline) throughout the story, so it will definitely be there. As for Sirius's thoughts, now that you've read it back to me, I do see how it would be a tad confusing! I wish that somehow I could have side notes that explain what I was thinking at the time. But in that part, I was just thinking like he was kind of almost rambling in his thoughts. Like he was musing a way to get out. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well, but hopefully you get it. If you have any more questions, then please let me know! Thanks for the review! _

**Padfoot-Dog1234- **_I have written more! I'm actually working on chapter four right now, so no worries there. Thanks for reviewing! _

**Kiwiknight- **_Thank you for your review! I'm glad you think this will turn out good. Lets keep our fingers crossed on that one, okay? _

**Athenakitty- **_I'll answer your questions in order okay? One, Harry's power level is something for me to know and you to find out when and if I reveal it! LOL – can't reveal all my secrets, can I? Secondly, you'll soon see the answer to your question...in this chapter in fact. And lastly, I can't tell you about wormy (nice nickname). You'll see if he turns up in this story or not. Sadly, you've asked a lot of the questions that I can't answer! You'll see, eventually. Thanks for the review. _

**Lacy- **_HereHereHere! LOL, you got your request, this is more! You have no idea how great it is for me that you like it! What can I say, I'm a review addict. Thanks for feeding the addiction! LOL. _

**Stinky Stan- **_I agree completely, I love AU Sirius/Harry stories! Though, that should be a tad obvious, considering my story. LOL. I'm glad you're so excited. _

**Luvguurl- **_I'm glad the recap wasn't dull. I was worried about that! Thank you so much for calling me a good writer! All based on one chapter too. I hope this one lives up to your expectations. Thanks for reviewing! _

**Serena24- **_Re-writing history is the best part sometimes! I'm happy you like how I'm doing it. Here's your update, I was actually planning on waiting a bit, but I figured I might as well just post it today. Thanks! _

Since Sirius will be in dog form, his thoughts will be in italics.

**------------------------------------Number Four Privet Drive**

"Oh my little Dudders!" The blonde woman shrieked in delight. Petunia Dursley was a tall, thin, bony and blonde woman. One who was completely unaware of the neglected baby in the other – extremely worn – crib. Instead, all of her attention was focused to the baby in front of her.

This baby was her son, Dudley Dursley. If one didn't know that Dudley was actually about a year and a half they would assume him to be a very chubby toddler. Once the fact of Dudley's real age was revealed, most people looked back and forth between Petunia and Dudley, wondering how the woman had been able to survive the labor.

Whereas the other baby was smaller than a year old child should be. He looked like he was months younger than he actually was. This boy was far more remarkable than Dudley Dursley was.

He was Harry Potter.

Not only was he not a Dursley, but he was also the savior of the wizard's world. The Boy Who Lived. Son to Lily and James Potter. Godson to Sirius Black.

Harry had never been a crier. He hardly ever made a fuss. Something that the Dursleys were immensely pleased about. They didn't have the time or energy to deal with a screaming child.

Which was odd considering Dudley rarely did anything but scream. 

"Mommy's going to get you some pudding! Would you like that Dudley?" Petunia crooned to her son. She hurried from the living room, where the two little boys were stationed. Dudley's room was actually upstairs, whereas Harry's was in the cupboard under the stairs.

Seconds later, Petunia returned with Dudley's chocolate pudding. She sent a despairing glance Harry's way. "And you, brat. You'll get some milk later."

**--------------------------------------Outside the House **

_Milk? Milk!? Harry was already eating solid baby food months ago! He needs more than milk!_

Sirius Black watched through the window of the house. Being that his animagus form was a dog, he didn't look too conspicuous. The only thing that people would find alarming about him would be his size, which was slightly diminished after his month in Azkaban.

But to a wizard, Padfoot would have been likened to a grim. Which was probably why Peter had nearly passed out the first time he'd seen Sirius's animagus form. Though, James had found it quite amusing. Sirius still remembered how James declared that if you saw the "Sirim" – Sirius and grim squashed together in one nonsense word - then it meant your innocence would die within moments. They had all found this immensely hilarious, considering by the time Sirius, James and Peter had managed their animagus transformations they had been far from innocent.

The memories were still painful. Sirius pulled himself from them and focused back on the sight in front of him. Lily's sister – _Petunia? Something flowery _– was still gushing over the fat baby.

And she was still neglecting his godson. Something that Sirius was considering a death penalty for. Harry was not a child to scream when he wanted something. Which made Lily and James' job as parents very hard in the beginning seeing as they never knew when he was hungry or upset. But now Sirius wasn't sure if it would be better for Harry to be a crying baby or not. 

_But what would they do to him if he cried all the time? _

Harry shouldn't have been sent to live with them. Dumbledore was wrong.

If Sirius could laugh he would have right then and there. There had been a time, a very long time, where the Marauders thought that Dumbledore could do no wrong. Especially Remus and Sirius. The headmaster had taken in the werewolf when no one else would have. And he'd trusted Sirius despite his dark family history.

But after what he'd condemned both Sirius and Harry to, Sirius couldn't even think of the old man with twinkling eyes.

The chubby boy had finished his pudding. _How about something for Harry now, eh?_

As the woman walked past Harry's crib to put away the pudding dish, Harry let out a small whimpering noise. No doubt he was hungry. Sirius's heart clenched at the noise and he wanted nothing more than to run to Harry and comfort him. But that had to wait until later.

But it was Petunia who had the bad reaction. She was unaccustomed to hearing the little boy make any noise. Screaming slightly she dropped the glass dish and it shattered on the floor. "You little_...thing_! Look what you've made me do! No dinner for you tonight!" she screamed.

It's not his fault that he's hungry. Maybe if you fed him he wouldn't have to make noises to get your attention!

"Oh, I don't know why I'm even talking to you! You're obviously too dumb to know what I'm saying." The bony woman exclaimed in anger. She muttered other things under her breath as she cleaned up the mess.

It took all of Sirius's will power not to rush in and hex her.

_One more night, Harry, I promise. Just a little longer. We'll be together again soon._

**--------------------------------Arabella Figg's House**

"That poor little boy." Arabella whispered. She clutched a picture of Lily and Harry in her hands. A picture that deserved a place of honor on her mantle, but was forced into a locked drawer.

Sighing, Arabella raised her elderly body up. She hated her new job. But it did offer her a way to say near to Harry. But in order to do that, she had to pose as an old woman with a cat obsession.

She walked to the window and looked out. She lived just across from the Dursley home, and already she didn't like the people. But once she moved in she'd marched across the street and pretended to be friendly. She'd even inquired about Harry, who was in a crib in a shady corner of the room. Once Petunia explained about his parent's death in a car crash – which was a load of bull – Arabella had praised the woman for being so kind.

And in that praise she had also managed to get in the offer for babysitting if the Dursleys ever wanted a quiet family night. They'd taken her up on it six times in a month.

During those nights when Harry was with her, she locked the doors and pulled the curtains closed. Each time she would transform into her younger, true, self. Harry would happily clap his hands at the sight of the familiar face. She knew that when he got older she would no longer be able to do this, but for now nothing could stop her.

Something large and black stirred her out of her thoughts. There was a dog peering into the Dursley's side window. A dog that looked suspiciously like a grim. But at the moment the dog wasn't doing anything wrong, just looking for scraps most likely.

It was nothing to worry Albus with. But still, Arabella filed it away for future reference.

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I hope you liked the chapter. Sirius and Harry are reunited in the next one, so you'll all have that to look forward to.

**Please, Review!!**


	3. Reunited With Harry

**Harry Potter and the New Start**

Reunited With Harry

Hey guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews you sent my way for the last chapter. I'm sure by the chapter title you can guess the premise of this chapter, so I'll just be quiet and get on with the responses at the end of the chapter.

**-----------------------------------Outside the Dursley's Home**

Outside it was almost pitch black, which suited Sirius's purposes perfectly. As a huge black dog, he could use all the cover the night could give him.

Especially with a witch living right next door.

It hadn't taken Sirius long to figure out which house held the member of his world. There was no way Dumbledore would just unload Harry and forget about him. Someone that Dumbledore trusted had to be there. Though, Sirius had kind of figured it would have been Remus.

But of course, it just had to be an elderly Arabella Figg. It was a good thing that Sirius couldn't laugh in dog form, because one look at Arabella's sagging wrinkly skin and he would have been done for. The only thing that gave her away was her eyes, which Sirius would know anywhere.

Though, it was just as well that it wasn't Remus next door. Arabella had no idea that three of the marauders had become animagus. Only Remus and Lily knew what they had done. Lily was gone, but Remus wasn't and Remus would have known him anywhere. Especially with that annoyingly perfect sense of smell the werewolf gave him.

Something that Remus would have noticed within seconds.

But now that he was sure that Moony was nowhere to be seen – or smelt – he could breath a sigh of relief.

Wishing for the millionth time he had his wand, Sirius went about picking the lock the muggle way. There were many wards on the house, but nothing against breaking in the muggle way.

With a barely audible click, the front door to muggle central opened and Sirius was granted access without so much as a twinge from the wards. Stealthily, with the practice that only years as a prankster could give him, Sirius slid down the hallway. He already knew which room was Harry's.

The cupboard under the stairs.

Suppressing the growl that he knew was leaking to the surface, Sirius tested the doorknob at the staircase. Unlocked. Just as he knew it would be. Yep, this was far too easy. Any deatheater could walk in and steal Harry away and nothing would have been done about it. Luckily Sirius was there to steal Harry away before any of the said deatheaters came by and tried to do the same.

But Dumbledore would hardly see it that way.

He swung open the door and quietly slipped inside. There was no real light inside the room, making it hard to see inside. But Sirius could still make out the image of a crib in front of him. Smiling softly to himself, Sirius reached inside the crib and nearly cried when he felt the soft body of his godson against his fingers.

"Harry...oh Harry." He whispered. Ever so gently, Sirius picked up the little boy and held him close. What he wouldn't give to go back in time and leave Godric's Hollow with Hagrid and Harry. He could have convinced Dumbledore of the switch. It would have been hard, but it would have worked. He should have at least tried to make Dumbledore understand.

His godson kept on sleeping peacefully. Sirius cradled him tightly and rushed out of the room. Harry was a light load, lighter than he should have been. But they'd take care of that.

Rushing out the front door, Sirius tried to apparate. "Damn it. He put up anit-apparation fields..." Sirius muttered to himself as he rushed away from the house. He ran for about ten minutes and tried again. This time he was successful. He apparated Harry and himself to the first place he could think of.

**----------------------------------Godric's Hollow**

Godric's Hollow looked just as Sirius remembered it. Except the house at the end of the street. The Potter's house. His eyes swept over the ripped away door, the half crumbled look of the place. The street was obviously abandoned after the attack. No one had gone back to the house after ... what happened.

"Come on, Harry. We'll stay here until I think of something better." Sirius reassured the sleeping child. It was unclear to even him if he was reassuring Harry or himself. He walked up to the front door and right inside of the house. Eerily reminiscent to how he just barged into the house a million times before.

It was just how he remembered it to be when he rushed in a month ago. Minus the body of James at the front stairs. Sirius realized he had missed their funeral and wasn't sure whether to be glad or not.

Chunks of plaster, wood splinters and various household items were strewn in the floor. Cautiously Sirius walked into the living room, he tested his weight on each step and saw that the floor seemed to be all right. He brushed aside the dust and other debris from the couch and set Harry down on it.

The little boy made a noise of contentment and lightly smacked his lips, as though he'd found something to eat in his dreams. Remembering the lack of food that Harry had been given over the last month, Sirius rushed into the kitchen. Whatever was in the refrigerator would have gone bad. But the pantry had a spell cast on it to keep all of its contents from spoiling. Which means that everything inside of it would be all right. Without much trouble, he located a jar of baby food. Most of the dishes were smashed on the floor, like they had been shaken out of their cabinets. But there was a plastic bowl that had survived. He quickly wiped it clean and located a spoon.

Armed with a bowl of baby food Sirius marched back into the living room. Harry was still fast asleep, looking so peaceful that Sirius almost didn't want to wake him up. "Harry, come on baby. Wake up, I've got some food for you! I know you're hungry."

His prodding – or his voice – quickly roused the baby into wakefulness. Brilliant green eyes snapped open and a delighted smile graced Harry's baby features. "Pa-fut!"

"Yes, Harry, Padfoot. I'm here now. Don't you worry." He grinned happily at the baby. He set the bowl of food down on the couch next to Harry and sat down with Harry sitting against him. "Here, applesauce, you love applesauce."

With the way Harry swallowed down spoonful after spoonful of applesauce, Sirius suspected he could have offered the child puréed liver and he would have accepted it. And while that thought amused him, it also angered him to no end.

While he fed Harry, he started to think of a place for them to go. Obviously, staying where they were wouldn't work. The Potter Manor was out of the question too, people would look for them there.

Grimmuald Palace was an option. But a last resort. A very – _very -_ last resort. As in, their only other option was Snape's house. At which point, if it did come down to that, Grimmuald Palace would look like paradise. Especially since no one would look for him there, even if they did think he'd gone bad.

They needed some place that no one else knew of, but had wards already placed on it because of the fact that Sirius no longer had his wand. They also needed something where no one would know them. It was a tough bill to fill.

"Prong's Place!" Sirius exclaimed, quietly however. They were still technically in hiding. But Sirius was almost too excited. His mind was back to the castle that belonged to the young master of the Potter estate.

The castle was something that had been passed down by each generation. When the boy of the family came of age, it was given to him. Which meant that the house was Prongs'. But if the heir lost their father before he became of age, the house automatically went to him.

Prong's Place was what James' had renamed it. Sirius could still vividly remember the day that James had taken him there. They'd been in Hogwarts and had actually apparated there. When you were going from or to the castle you could apparate no matter what. Anit-apparation wards or no.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he could have very well left Azkaban.

The castle itself was huge. Not quite the size of Hogwarts, but definitely quite large. It had house elves of its own, bound to Harry, which meant their food situation would be fine. Considering he couldn't very well run to the store, it was necessary to have someone do it for them. This was one less problem they would have.

But the beauty of the castle was that no one else knew of it. And no one could find them. Unless you were an heir of the home or the heir had told you of it, then you wouldn't be able to get here. For someone who didn't know, you'd take a step at the start of the property and completely step over the rest of it until you got to the complete opposite side, without knowing you'd just stepped over acres of land. This meant that there was quite a huge chunk of land that was missing to all muggles and wizards.

And since the Potter line was Harry and Harry alone, there were no other living people who knew of the home. The only real reason Sirius himself had been told was that he'd been living with James and his family at the end of their school year.

"Harry, I've got it! Oh, you'll love it." Sirius reassured the baby. It only took him one glance at Harry to see that in his thoughts he hadn't been bringing the spoon close enough to Harry. The baby was leaning forward trying to get to his food.

"Oops, sorry."

* * *

The castle will be explained in more detail next chapter. I hope I didn't confuse you all with it!

**Stinky Stan- **_I agree, how could Dumbledore not check up on him or try to get him out if Harry was getting so mistreated. Either he didn't care or he didn't know. Neither is __really working in his favor. But at least Sirius has him now...:-) Thanks for reviewing! _

**Athenakitty- **_Harry's been kidnapped this chapter, so your question has already been answered. Part of the reason I decided to start down here instead. No lasting marks to the Dursleys though. One reason for that being that technically Sirius has no wand right now. Also, he wanted to get away without any of the wards and/or Arabella Figg finding out. Hope I didn't disappoint you with the lack of Dursley terror!_

**Kungzoune- **_You're really liking it!? YAY! I'd get up and do a happy dance, but no one needs to see that! LOL. Thanks!_

**Tessa- **_Arabella doesn't really play a huge part at all. She's really more there just to watch Harry, but now that he's gone she doesn't really pop in much again. I'm sorry about that. Thanks reviewing!! _

**Yana5- **_Sirius has kidnapped Harry, happy? Thanks for the review! :-)_

**Padfootluver**- _Thank you for reviewing, though I think half of it was in code! LOL. _

**Luvguurl- **_Good to know that I've tugged some heartstrings about Harry. Not that bad of a cliffhanger, I'm known for much worse...which I'm more than willing to display! Hehe. Again, thank you for your review! _


	4. Home

**Harry Potter and the New Start**

Home

* * *

Hey! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Now you all get to see what the new home for Sirius and Harry is! Responses at the bottom, where they will be for the rest of the story.

**------------------------------------Godric's Hollow**

Once Harry finished his dinner, Sirius just left the bowl where it was. There wasn't really a need to keep the place clean, considering how it was already partly demolished. "Okay, Harry, why don't we grab some stuff from your room?"

The stairs were shaky at best, something that Sirius hadn't noticed when he had raced up them to get to Lily and Harry. But they seemed to be remaining vertical, which was all Sirius could ask for.

Reaching Harry's old bedroom, Sirius couldn't help but allow his heart to clench for a second. Lily and James had put so much work into that room, for it to be perfect. They would have made such amazing parents. Hell, half the time Sirius wished they'd adopt _him_.

He grabbed a baby bag from the shelf and quickly started shoving some of Harry's toys and clothes into it. They would most likely have all they'd need at their new home, but it didn't hurt to go prepared. The playpen in the corner was still intact, so Sirius set Harry down and raced to the Potter's bedroom. He and James were pretty much the same size, so it wouldn't hurt to grab one of Prongs' old robes.

Once he was changed he stepped back into Harry's nursery. "Alright, Harry, isn't this an improvement? No more month old robes." He brightly talked to the baby.

Harry looked up at Sirius and held out a toy for him. Accepting the child's offer, Sirius plopped the stuffed black dog – a gift that Sirius had given Harry a little after he'd been born - into the bag of things they were talking with them. "Excellent idea, Emeralds." Sirius praised, using James's nickname for his son. A nickname that Sirius would make sure that Harry continued to answer to.

Once Sirius was sure that they'd gathered the necessities for Harry, should their new home be ill equipped for a baby, Sirius grabbed his godson and walked out the door. His earlier suspicion of the streets abandonment seemed right. Judging from the lack on noise that usually accompanied a street – night time or no – the guess was that the street had been abandoned, which meant that no one would care if he just apparated out of the street.

**----------------------------------Prong's Place**

"Well, at least I can see it." Sirius brightly informed Harry, pleased that there would be no setbacks in their plan. That was, unless the house elves went on strike, or worse, got in touch with Dumbledore. But luckily for him, all of the house elves would remember him as James's friend.

Sirius stepped inside the property and wasn't instantly whisked away to the other side. The castle itself looked just as big and gleaming as Sirius remembered it.

There were many secrets to the Potter Castle, as its name was originally. Each of the owners changed its name to suit their needs. Prong's Palace would be its name until something else came to mind.

But, while it was half the size of Hogwarts, it was an adjusting home. Like one big room of requirement, except once it changed itself the rooms would stay unless a reason came up for them to change again in the same timeframe. It changed to suit the needs of its owner. Many of the rooms stayed the same no matter the owner. Things such as the lounge – which happened to resemble the Gryffindor common room – , the library and the kitchens, along with many of the bedrooms all stayed the same.

Once the castle started to learn about its new masters it would change around to suit the needs. James's specifics might change into something else that Harry needed. According to James's father, when he inherited the castle it had been full of libraries, all organized by subject for his studious father. When James had gotten the castle, it had been full of auror records and items – some of which had stuck around for the next generation.

And in James's version the castle was stocked up on pranking/experimentation rooms and quidditch supplies. Along with a quidditch pitch in the grounds. As James had gotten older, some of the auror rooms that had been there when he first received the castle returned.

Sirius was now sorely hoping that there would be a nursery in the castle. He walked up to the door and opened it wide, Harry and the bag still clutched in each arm. His godson seemed quiet intrigued by what was happening. "Pa-fut?"

Grinning at his godson's way of making his name into a full on sentence – "What are we doing here?" – Sirius decided to just tell him, even if Harry wouldn't quite understand. "This is our new home, Harry."

But Harry's attention span didn't allow the little boy to digest these words, as a house elf had just apparated in front of them, "Mister Black! Yous's back! And Master Potter too!"

"Hello, Boo." Sirius greeted the house elf. She had always been one of his favorites, and in turn Boo had adored both he and James. It was good to start off with Boo, as she could explain it to the rest of the house elves. She was pretty much in charge of the house, and was the elf that they'd see the most. "We're back."

"It's good to see Mister Black and Master Harry. Where is Master Potter?" Boo asked, all the while looking behind Sirius at the open door as though James were right behind him.

Sirius put the bag down on the ground and kneeled down in front of the elf. He set Harry down on the ground next to him, the little boy merely watched the conversation with interest. "James, um...James and Lily were killed."

The house elves' eyes grew wider than they already were. Which was saying something. Tears threatened to overflow, but Boo held them back. "What happened, Mister Black?"

"Vol...um, sorry. You-Know-Who." Sirius explained. "Lily and James died trying to protect Harry. Okay, Boo, you may hear some things. But they're wrong. I'll tell you the truth, okay? I wasn't the secret keeper for them, I did not betray James and I am not the Dark Lord's right hand. It was Peter Pettigrew, who is still alive."

Boo nodded reverently, "Boo is believing Mister Black. Mister Black would never do anything to Master Potter!"

"Thanks for believing me." Sirius thanked her with a grin. "But no one else does. They thought that I betrayed Lily and James, and then when I went to confront Peter, he set me up. He's made it look like I killed him and thirteen muggles. But I didn't."

"What happened to Master Harry and Mister Black after?" Boo asked, following along to the story perfectly. She had served the Potters all through James's life, and she'd known Sirius since he was sixteen. Boo knew how close they were, and she knew that there was no way that Sirius had done what the people claimed.

Sighing, Sirius continued on with his tale, happy that Boo had believed him. "Dumbledore sent ...wait, do you know who Dumbledore is?"

"Boo is knowing Albus Dumbledore. He is a great wizard." Boo answered. She nodded wildly, her black hair flopping into her face.

Sirius nodded back, "Good. Okay, well Dumbledore thought that Harry would be safest with the Dursleys – Lily's sister."

"But Mister Black is Master Harry's godfather!" the elf cried out indigently. "Why did Albus Dumbledore not give Master Harry to Mister Black?"

In Sirius's mind he was agreeing right along with her. "Well, Boo, since I was thought to be the traitor, I was sent to Azkaban."

Before he could continue his story, Boo threw her arms around Sirius. She squeezed so hard that he was sure that he could hear his ribs creaking under the pressure. "Um...Boo...air."

Sheepishly, the elf backed off. "Boo is being sorry, Mister Black. How did Mister Black get out of Azkaban?"

"I, well, I escaped." Sirius answered just as sheepishly. He looked down at the ground as Boo's eyes again widened.

"Escaped?" She whispered in awe. "No wizard's ever escaped."

Smiling, "Well, no wizard but me." Sirius told her, trying to keep the pride from his voice. "Okay, so anyway, once I escaped I was hell bent on getting Harry. I know Lily's sister, Boo, she's awful. She hates magic, and she hated Lily."

"Mistress Lily was so kind! How could her sister hate her?" Boo cried out. She had only met Lily once or twice, but Lily had always been nice to her. According to Lily, Boo was the only girlfriend she had around Prong's Place. Sirius could still remember the sobs of joy and flattery that had come from Boo hours after that.

"I know. But either way, Petunia did hate her. And by extension, she hated Harry." Sirius said as his voice darkened. The image of his godson whimpering for food was still fresh in his mind. Sirius leaned down and kissed Harry's head. Sensing that Sirius needed it, Harry sent a wide smile up to his godfather and clutched his hand. "I went and watched at their house. She was spoiling her son. But she wasn't feeding Harry anything. He's thinner than he was a month ago."

Boo looked outraged at the injustice of it all. "That is evil, Mister Black!"

"Tell me about it." Sirius sighed. "Boo, I'm on the run. They find me, and I go back to Azkaban and Harry goes back to the Dursleys. Because now, I've technically kidnapped him out from under Dumbledore's nose. Is it all right if I raise Harry here? Where no one can find us."

Nodding her head, Boo made sure there was no room for arguments. "Yes, Mister Black. The elves and I will serve you and Master Harry. We is not going to tell anyone that you're here."

Smiling brightly Sirius breathed an internal sigh of relief. "Thank you, Boo.

"You are most welcome, Master Black." Boo slid in the 'Master' slyly. It as a huge honor to have the elves that were bound to the Potters recognize him as Master. It meant that she was going to help them in any way she could. "I is going to tell the others what is going on. Unless there is something that you or Master Harry needs?"

Leaning down to his godson, Sirius asked. "What do you think, Harry? Do we need anything right now?"

Screwing up his face in concentration, Harry appeared to be giving it some deep thought. After a minute, he'd made his conclusion. "No-no. Pa-fut, story!"

Both Boo and Sirius laughed. "I think we're set, Boo."

The elf bowed to them both and started to hurry away. But just as Sirius was picking up Harry from the ground, she turned around. "Master Black, what will Boo tell the other elves the new house name is?"

Sirius had forgotten that the castle changed its name for each new master. He hadn't even thought of something to name it. He looked over at Harry, who was looking at him in fascination. The idea struck him and Sirius grinned.

"Emerald's Palace."

* * *

I hope you all liked this chapter. Please, if I've confused anyone then let me know in a review and I'll answer your questions.

**Athenakitty- **_Well, you remember the book where Fred and George picked the locks? They said it was a skill worth learning for a prankster, I just figured that the Marauders had taken that to heart too. No real reason why he'd know, just that its what I wanted! LOL. As for your other questions, I can't tell! Nope, no way. Hehe. _

**Yana5- **_I think Harry's pretty cute too. Thanks for the review! _

**Kungzoune- **_I have permission for a happy dance? Well, trust me, it wouldn't be pretty. I'm glad my chapters are still liked. Thanks!_

**Luvguurl- **_I liked the ending too, I thought it would be cute. As for my cliffhangers, you'll see. I actually write here under a different name for a different genre, and you should see how many "You suck"s or "I hate you!"s I've gotten over time. Thanks for the review!_

**Mushroom – hunter – d- **_I hope the Potter Mansion got explained a bit better for you. As for Sirius's wand, you'll see, I've got a solution there. Should come up within a few chapters. :-)_

**Tessa- **_I'm hoping the direction this goes will continue to make you happy! I was actually quite pleased with how that feeding scene turned out, so I'm glad everyone seems to agree. As for your questions, yes Sirius gets a wand. And no, Harry doesn't go to Hogwarts. Though, I've set up the story so that I can continue it into school as a series or something. Ah, we'll see..._

**Padfootluver- **_Ahh, so that's what it meant! I get it now. Bring us more posts. Okay, that clears things up! Total greatness? I'm not sure about that, but thanks all the same! ;-) _

**I Hate Everything- **_Good to know that someone who hates everything wants more. LOL. _

**Hermoine21- **_Sirius's wand will be explained. As for money, make something up in your head? Okay? I might add a little paragraph explaining it in a later chapter, but for now its sorta low on my priorities list. I didn't even think of it until I read your review! LOL, you're more on top of it then I am. Thanks for the review. _

**Nytingale- **_Remus does turn up in this story. As for what he does and does not find out, you'll have to wait and see! But I can assure you of his presence. In fact, he turns up very soon. :-)_

**Stinky Stan- **_Yep, they're quite please, as I am. LOL. I like writing Sirius and Harry scenes. Thanks for the review!_

**Chocolatelove- **_Brilliant!? You're gonna make me blush! But I do agree completely about how Harry should have never gone to the Dursleys. Blood protection or no, that's cruelty! As for the long chapters...well...I'll try. I have an outline for the chapters of the story (keeps my focus, much easier for me!) so the only way to make them longer for now would be me embellishing a lot. I will try though. Thanks!_

**YoshimiWolfspaw- **_I'm glad you love it! I'm trying to keep a semi-regular update schedule, so no worries there. Thanks for reviewing. _

**Kimberly- **_Excellent job, hu? Thank you very much. _

**Takari4ever7- **_Reactions will be coming up very soon. Meaning next chapter or so. Thanks for your review!_

**Ciberloco- **_I know your pain, I was this close to putting down book five and never picking up a HP book again when I read that part. The reactions are coming soon! Thanks. _

**Moonmage- **_First, cool name, I like it. Good to know you like it! :-)_


	5. The Outside World

**Harry Potter and the New Start**

The Outside World

* * *

Hi everyone! Big thanks to all of the reviewers! I'm sorry if in the responses someone's name didn't get bolded or your response is bunched up with someone elses. It's perfect on my computer, but it didn't quite look so good when I uploaded it. I tried to fix it all, but I might have missed something! 

For everyone who was wondering when Remus would appear, here's your chapter!

**-----------------------------------Hogwarts**

Arabella's face disappeared from his fireplace with a pop, and Albus sat down in his chair heavily. Harry Potter was missing.

"Albus?" Minerva McGonagall almost timidly whispered. The headmaster of Hogwarts stared straight ahead and didn't even acknowledge that she'd said anything. "What does this mean?"

After a few seconds of silence, Dumbledore sighed. "It means, Minerva, that Sirius Black escaped to take Harry."

Minerva gasped. "No, Albus. There's no way! He's just a baby."

The Headmaster looked as though he'd aged years in only moments. Black's escape and Harry's disappearance corresponded with each other too closely for it to be coincidence. "There is no way that it was someone else. Black has taken Harry back."

"Well, what can we do?" McGonagall asked him. What she didn't realize was that Dumbledore was almost as idealess as she was.

"We search for them, hoping to find Harry alive and well." Albus simply stated. There was nothing else to it. But if Black didn't want to be found, if he knew someplace that others did not, then there would be no hope in finding him.

Something that Sirius Black's former teacher knew all too well. "And if we don't find Harry alive? If we don't find him at all?"

"Then the fate of the wizarding world is in jeopardy."

Like Dumbledore had done moments ago, Minerva sank down into the chair opposite Dumbledore's desk. "Oh dear."

"And if Sirius does not kill Harry, then I fear that things may be worse." Dumbledore mused as he shook his head. The twinkle in his blue eyes wasn't present, which scared Minerva just as much as the news itself. It was as though they didn't have any hope.

Her eyes narrowed in confusion, "What do you mean, Albus."

Again, Dumbledore sighed. He looked down at his desk. "Harry is powerful, we've always known that. When he comes of age, he will be more powerful than I am, or Voldemort." He ignored his fellow professor's wince at the name, "If Harry is raised to follow Voldemort's ways...not even I can stop him."

Minerva's heart clenched again. "That poor little boy. How could Black do this? It doesn't make sense."

"Sense isn't something that Black has displayed in quite some time." Dumbledore lamented. Not just talking about the Potter's demise. Even in his school days, Sirius Black was not known for his common sense. And in the words of James Potter himself, Sirius also wasn't known for his sanity either. At the time it had just been a joke, but not even Dumbledore himself could have predicted how right James would be.

Something told McGonagall that it was time to leave. She silently got up and walked from the room. Once the door was closed, Dumbledore pulled a picture from his desk.

The Marauders.

He'd watched the group of friends grow since day one. They all intrigued and amused him. Though, he'd never admit it - their pranks had been an endless source of amusement to him.

But it was the group itself that served to puzzle him. Such an unlikely group of friends. One, a werewolf hiding his secret. Another a coward – no matter how well meaning, in the group of such brave boys. The next was from a family so old and so well known for its good doing, and he was carrying on their light ways merely with a smile. The last was doing the same as the other, but he wasn't from the same family, his family was nothing but pure evil.

Dumbledore thought that Sirius would rise above it. And for so long it seemed he did. He was sorted to Gryffindor, not Slytherin like every other member of the Black family. He befriended the Potter family to the point where he went to live with them in his sixth year. He shunned his parents and his brother. He became an auror, with James by his side as his partner. They were two of the best aurors that had ever been seen, save Alastor Moody.

And on top of all of that, he was so close to James, Lily and Harry. He treated Lily like a sister at all times. And for seven years he was inseparable to James. Even after school had ended, they saw each other almost every day. Then when little Harry came along, most people thought that Lily and James were fools for making Sirius the godfather. Especially when Sirius was still such a child himself.

But anyone who had been around Harry and Sirius would see how much Sirius adored the child. He spoiled Harry and took his godfather role very seriously. The first thing he took very seriously in his entire life.

James had been so pleased that there would be someone around who loved Harry if anything were to have happened to him. But now, as it turned out, Peter was dead and Remus was alone. Black was the traitor that no one would have guessed. And he had Harry.

"I'm so sorry, James."

------------------------------Remus Lupin's Cottage

The werewolf paced his small living room back and forth. He'd been in constant movement since he had heard about Sirius and Harry from McGonagall. "How could you, Sirius?"

Harry was just a baby. As small innocent child. He was James's child. And Sirius had taken him. He might have killed him already as it was. "You've taken James and Peter, weren't they enough? Why couldn't you just let Harry be?" He whispered. He knew that there was no one in the room, but that didn't matter to him anymore.

The look on Sirius's face when Harry had been put in his arms was still fresh in his mind. It felt like a lifetime ago, but in reality it was only a year or so ago. So much had happened. They were all happy then. There was no threat of Voldemort.

Well, there had been. But the impending birth of the next marauder had outshone it.

At the time Remus had been sure that there was no way that Sirius could go dark. How could things have changed so quickly? "What made you do it, Padfoot? Why did you switch sides? You defied your parents so long, why now?"

That was question that only Sirius himself could answer. But Remus was sure that if he ever ran into his old friend, he would be too angry to speak, let alone have a deep conversation on reasons for changing loyalties.

"We'll get him back, Sirius. You wait and see. I promise."

-------------------------------------Daily Prophet

**Boy Who Lived Vanished! **

**Sirius Black Escaped From Azkaban!**

By Rita Skeeter

The night that every wizard knows by heart now has a new twist in its story. As everyone knows, that was the night when You-Know-Who vanished and the wizarding world found its savior in little Harry Potter. The same night, Sirius Black met his downfall in Peter Pettigrew. According to sources, Harry Potter was sent to live in a undisclosed location while Black when to the Azkaban prison.

On November 28 we received word that Sirius Black, right hand and heir to the Dark Lord, had escaped from his top security cell in Azkaban. This is a feat that has been never before attempted, let alone achieved. The dementors are said to be furious that Black escaped and that they will stop at nothing to return him to his cell.

But coincidentally or not – you be the judge – two days later, little Harry was kidnapped from his home. This was done under the nose of a ministry official of Albus Dumbledore's choosing and numerous ward set up by the ministry of magic.

"Harry Potter's disappearance is being looked into with as many of our aurors as we can send out." Was the official statement from Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

But is this enough to find the boy who survived the killing curse? And does Sirius Black have anything to do with his disappearance? Most wizards say yes, "That Black was always trouble. To have betrayed Lily and James is crime enough! But to have taken Harry? The worst of his crimes!" says Doris Crockford, a local witch.

While others are calling for a harsher punishment. Dedalus Diggle says, "Fudge should be canned! He wasn't fit for the job then, he's proved he isn't now!" Diggle goes on to give his opinion on Black, "Forget throwing him into Azkaban. Now that he's done it, he'll just get out again. Black always was smart. Just didn't know he was that smart. No, the only way to stop that boy is the Kiss!"

Diggle is of course, speaking of the Dementor's Kiss. When performed, the Kiss will suck the soul out of a person's mouth. If this is harsh or not is up to Fudge. The Minister is under scrutiny as to whether or not he can find Potter. If he fails to do so many people are demanding his resignation. Once again, there is a fraction of people pushing for Dumbledore as Minister, though he has refused the position many times already.

Will Harry Potter and Sirius Black be found? And if so, will the Boy-Who-Lived still be alive?

* * *

All right, as promised, you have gotten some of the outside world's feelings on the escape. I'd just like to quickly say, that I'm quite pleased that you all liked Boo the house elf. My black cat – by the name of Boo – is also happy with this. Hehe...

**Yana5- **_I'm glad you liked Boo. She stays in the story through the whole thing. And if the story continues on to Harry's school years and some stories in between, then she will most likely continue through there too. Thanks!_

**Padfootluver- **_Sorry, the name stays as is. LOL, though that was a good suggestion. :-) You stay my faithful reviewer, I'll stay your faithful updater. Deal?_

**Chibi-NarutoKawaii- **_I'm happy you like the idea. I'll try to update as fast as I can! Thanks for the review!_

**GNatgirl- **_I think one deserves a bit more time than that! LOL. Was the update fast enough? _

**Kungzoune- **_So glad you're continuing to enjoy the story. Thanks for the review! _

**Jocelyn Angel- **_Not a mushy fan? I'm not sure if there's anything particularly mushy throughout the story, but you never know. As for Boo, I actually couldn't remember exactly how house elves talk, but I'm glad you like it all the same. Thanks for the review!_

**Tanya J. Potter**- _You love it? Yay, that's good! Thanks! _

__  
**PrincessSkywalkerOrgana**-_ Oooh! You caught me! I didn't even think of that! Wow...I feel kinda stupid now. Jeez, you'll have to come up with an explanation for that yourself. I'm sorry. Though, I can tell you that Remus comes next chapter. Does that make up for my total mess up there? I'll try to think up a reason and add it in soon. Thanks for the review though. _

**Jellybaybee555- **_I'm right there next to you drooling, believe me! LOL. Thanks for the review. _

**Born to Fire- **_And mine makes the cut? Thank you so much! _

**Takemeunder23- **_These are my favorite kinds of stories too, along with James and Harry stuff. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the stories about Harry and a father figure. Remus comes next chapter, though, you may not think his appearance is the best. You'll see. Thanks!_

**Yami Rose- **_Why would I take that the wrong way. If anything, it completes the circle. As writing the chapters gets me out of homework of all kinds, so its only fitting that its gets out of doing that too. LOL. Thanks for reviewing! _

**Person who had a smilie face as your reviewer name**_-Wipe your eyes, it won't stay sweet forever. Hehe...thanks for the review! (I'm really sorry, but I kept trying to get the smilie to stay when I uploaded, but it didn't want to. So, I had to go with the next best thing, LOL)_

**Nytingale**- _Nope, the elves aren't going to throw Sirius and Harry out. I'm happy that you like the idea of a castle. Thanks for the review! _

**Yaha- **_Thanks._

**Athenakitty- **_You're big on asking questions I can answer, aren't you? Well, lets see what I can answer...Dumbledore may or may not find out in this one (I have another story in this universe that I've started, you know, as a sequel which can be posted if anyone wants to read it after this is done, but anyway, he does find out in that for sure). No, Boo doesn't go to Dumbledore. Three, one would assume that (LOL). Next, not in this story. Can't answer the next one or the one after that. Hehe. Thanks for the review. _

**Rominion- **_I thought it was a good name too. Kind of reminds me of the Emerald City from Wizard of Oz (something I didn't even think of until after I'd named the castle, LOL). Thanks for reviewing! _

**She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named- **_I think the story will switch back and forth between slightly sad and upbeat. But I'm not a fan of stories that are just knocking the characters down with more depression and awful things each chapter. I like to break it up. You got your Remus in this chapter, and don't worry, this isn't the last of him! _

**YoshimiWolfspaw-** _Another person who liked Boo! Good, I'm so glad. I was worried she would come off overly annoying or something. I added the bit with Lily, I thought it was cute – glad you liked it. Thanks!_

**Luvguurl- **_Go ahead, use Emeralds. I'm sure there are a million other fanfictions that have used that as a nickname for Harry, so it's far from mine. That was quite the rhyming you had at the end! LOL. Thanks for the review! I'll update as fast as I can._

**Hermoine21**- _I'm glad you liked the name of the castle, I thought it would be cute. Besides, it takes care of Sirius's making sure that Harry answers to it! Thanks for reviewing!_

**Harrycrazy- **_I'm writing a bit ahead of what you're all reading, so don't worry about that. Thanks for the review! _

**HoshiHikari4ever-** _Yep, I'm trying to make Harry quite cute, though it doesn't actually require a lot of work. LOL. You'll see what everyone else thinks, actually, you've pretty much just seen in this chapter. At least for a while. Thanks!_

**Moonmage- **_I hope the wait wasn't painful! School started for me on Thursday, so updates might be a bit slower now. I do have other things that need updating in addition to this, so my schedule is a tad hectic right now. But don't worry, I'm going to be sure that at least once a week there's a new chapter up. Thanks for reviewing! _

**Padfootgurl89- **_I love that you love my story! Thanks for the review, you'll see everything soon. _


	6. Late Night Chat

**Harry Potter and the New Start**

Late Night Chat

* * *

Hey guys! Okay, here is the return of Harry and Sirius. This chapter supposed to be a few days later.

----------------------------------Harry's Nursery

Harry lay wrapped up in a blanket in Sirius's arms. The two of them sat in the rocking chair in Harry's nursery. The moment they'd walked in the door of the mansion, the nursery had been added, with everything a baby could need. Boo had been quite surprised.

According to Boo, all of the house elves believed his story whole-heartedly and would not sell them out. They went so far as to cut out all of the articles in the Daily Prophet about them before Sirius read them, so he wouldn't be upset by their content.

"We're going to be okay, Harry." Sirius looked down at the little boy with a smile. Harry was quite insistent that he did not have to go to bed. "Tomorrow, we'll go flying. You'll love it." He promised.

The little boy looked up at him, trying to keep the sleep from his eyes. But Sirius could tell that Harry was tired. He was hoping that if he talked softly enough, Harry would be lulled to sleep.

It was worth a try, as Sirius and the house elves had tried everything else to get Harry to sleep already.

"You're a stubborn little boy, you know that? Just like your mommy and daddy." Sirius told Harry very seriously. Sirius smiled sadly at the thought of Lily and James.

Harry looked up at him, slightly more awake. "P'ongs?"

Chuckling quietly, Sirius remembered how long it had taken Harry to get out Daddy instead of Prongs. "Yes, baby, Prongs. You know why that's his nickname, don't you?"

"Pop!" Harry cried. He was imitating the sound that would happen when an animagus changed into their animal form, or changed back into their human one. Harry had seen he and James in both forms many times. In fact, during a visit to an order meeting, Harry had insisted upon this and made everyone else at the meeting pretty confused. This was, of course, with the exception of Lily and Remus. Once they caught on that "Pop!" and "Woof!" meant that Harry wanted to play with Padfoot and Prongs, they were practically beside themselves trying to get under control.

Sirius laughed sadly at the memory. Harry frowned at his godfather's behavior. "Siri sad?"

Sighing heavily, Sirius brushed his hand over Harry's soft black hair. It was already every which way, so it didn't even look like he'd mussed it up. "Just sometimes, Emeralds."

"Wh'?" Harry asked him seriously, as though he really understood the conversation. Though Sirius had the strong suspicion that Harry was smarter than most children.

Either way, he answered Harry's question. "I miss your Mom and Dad, just like you do." He said softly. Harry nodded his head, understanding him perfectly.

"P'ongs an' 'Iga Lily." The baby answered.

"Prongs and Tiger Lily, exactly. But you know what that means now, right baby?" Sirius asked Harry. They rocked back and forth slowly, just enough to make the child in his arms tired, but not enough to jostle him too much. Harry's eyelids were slowly falling and the little boy continued his fight to stay away.

Harry made a small noise, and Sirius took that as a what. "That means we're each other's family now."

He watched as Harry closed his eyes and smiled slightly. He'd heard Sirius.

Ever so gently, Sirius got up from the chair and stood up. He stopped for a second to see if Harry had woken up. Once the baby seemed completely under, Sirius laid him down in his bed. He had other things to do while Harry was asleep. James had left some things in the house, out of sentimental values. And one of those things would come in handy greatly.

As Sirius turned off the light, he turned back to Harry, "Goodnight, Harry. I love you."

* * *

Okay, short chapter, I'll give you that. But I hope you'll all forgive me. The next one does feature Harry and Sirius, so it'll make up for it.

**Lady Foxfire- **_Now what kind of writer would I be if I told you that? Hu? Nope, you'll just have to wait and read for that information. Good try though! Hehe..._

**Jocelyn Angel- **_I'm glad you liked the article. I had one version of it where it was probably over the top Rita, and then I decided to tone it down. Which is the result you saw. Thanks for reviewing. _

**Stinky Stan- **_I'm right there with ya, Stan. LOL. I have no clue as to why they could believe that, but they did. Remus makes his return later on, probably still feeling like crap. Poor guy. But oh well. Thanks for the review!_

**Takemeunder23- **_Tension fan? Okay, well, I'll see if I can work that feeling in here at some point. LOL. As I just told Lady Foxfire above you, what makes you think I'd tell you something like that? Nope, not gonna happen anytime soon! You'll have to stay and read! _

**Yana5- **_I don't think she'll be a mother figure. I'm not really sure actually. As for Dumbledore, do you really think he'd leave them alone? Come on here! LOL, you'll see. Thanks!_

**FroBoy- **_I'm happy you like it. Thanks very much! _

**Luvguurl- **_I can't wait to read it when you do post it. Thanks for the review! _

**Padfootgurl89- **_Remus does return later on, but I won't tell you how or when. As for the continuation of this, I do hope to do some other stories. Though, it's a bit of a annoyance for me when it goes from like, age six to eleven in the blink of an eye. So there is a story that I've got an outline for that goes in between the end of this and his school years. Whether its written and posted, well, that's really up to you guys. Thanks for reviewing! _

**Iniysa- **_Hope the wait wasn't too bad. Thanks!_

**Serry2- **_Remus doesn't know about the castle. I can't tell you anything else though! Thanks for reading and reviewing!_

**Athenakitty- **_I am not telling you that! No! Bad reviewer, asking me questions you know I can't answer! LOL!_

**HoshiHikari4ever- **_Yes, Remus should realize it wasn't Sirius. But then again, Sirius should have never suspected Remus and should have made him privy to the switch. Peter isn't dead. And he does come up eventually. That's all I'll say about that though. Thanks for reviewing._

**Harrycrazy- **_I'm going as fast as I can here! LOL, I'm glad you want more though, as that means that you like the story. Thanks for the review!_

**Yami Rose- **_I'm not entirely sure what you meant by the house, but the elves already have called him master. Sirius knows that. If that it, then I was kind of trying to imply that it was a big enough honor that he didn't want to make a big deal. Like an unspoken understanding between he and Boo. I hope that helps!_

**KFF- **_I'll tell you what, I do agree with you (hint hint). This is the part where I give a small smile and wink at you. _

**Padfoot-Dog1234- **_Four times! But it isn't even that long yet. I can't believe you've re-read already. Though, I can't say I'm not pleased...LOL. What is this book on fanfiction? And our story? Thanks for the review – I'm going as fast as I can. _

**Bast4- **_Okay, we'll go in order with those questions, all right? One, Harry is very powerful, that's all you're getting right now! Magic is going to be a situation dealt with in a bit. Third, as for Harry getting sick, that's an interesting idea, but I don't think that will be happening (at least in this story). I can't tell you about Remus. I do jump a little in this story, Harry will stay a baby for a while, but eventually we will jump so he's four (or six, I haven't chosen yet). There will be a few stories in between this and a Hogwarts one (if there is enough interest – and time on my end – after this ends). I hope that helps you out, sorry about the stuff that I couldn't answer! Thanks for the review!_

**PrincessSkywalkerOrgana- **_Here's your add on. Thanks for the review. _

**Ravens-Jade- **_I'll be sure to finish. I'm glad you like where I'm going so far. Thanks for the review!_

**Okay, so I've been noticing that the reviewers have a million questions on Remus. And if there's that many from the reviewers, then just think of the lurkers. **I will tell you that he hasn't had his last appearance. Harry does meet Remus eventually (might not be this story). And Remus and Sirius do talk. About what and how well it goes is entirely up to me and I'm not telling (this is the part where I dance around with my tongue out...hehe).

I'd also like to thank all the reviewers yet again. I've gotten such an amazing response from this story, better than any other I've written. I've already said to a couple of you in your responses, that there is an outline for the next part in this series written. I'd be more than willing to write more after this story, if there is still interest in it after this is over (and if I have the time...). That story is **definitely** where Harry and Remus start a relationship.

Okay, guys, once again, thanks! I've got a LOT of homework, so if I don't do it now I'll be in big trouble later on. I'll try to get your next chapter up sometime soon, though I might not expect it until Tuesday or so, unless I suddenly find myself with some free time - chances of that are looking slim to nil right now.

**_-Stars Enchantress_**


	7. Life As We Now Know It

**Harry Potter and the New Start**

Life As We Now Know It

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_Hello everyone. Thanks to the reviewers, I'll be talking with you all at the bottom though. I'm sorry this took so long! Schools been a bitch, and even though we have today off, I need to clean my room (I'd rather get dental surgery). So I'm cleaning and when I've done a good bit of it then I treat myself to a break, meaning I rush to the other side of the room (over lots of stuff, as I'm not done yet) to write some of this. _

_This chapter is probably one of my least favorites of the outline. It's more of a filler chapter, so you all know what's going on. After this we will be flashing forward a few years, as I can't keep Harry a baby through the whole thing. Don't worry though, its only by a few years._

_This is a week after the last chapter. Also, if Harry calls Sirius "Sir" it's supposed to be "Seer". **Beware of fluff.**_

----------------------------------Emerald's Palace

Harry watched in amusement as Sirius cursed loudly again. The man was completely oblivious to the baby's presence, as Harry had slipped away from Boo and crawled to his godfather. For Harry it was rather amusing to watch Padfoot get all frustrated when the box he was looking in didn't contain what he wanted it too.

"God damn it James! I know you left it in here somewhere. All your parents' old things. Bloody hell..." the animagus muttered. Not softly enough for the baby to not catch it, but not loudly enough to alarm the house elves. If Lily had found out that her baby had heard him talking like that then he would be dead.

When the next box turned up nothing Sirius growled and flopped back onto the floor. This action was followed by a rather loud yell. Though, it didn't bother Harry in the slightest. He merely giggled, causing Sirius to jump almost a foot.

"Harry!" he near shouted as he crawled through the mess towards his godson. How long had Harry been there? And more importantly, how much had he heard?

Giggling again, Harry answer. "Pa-fut! Wha' do?"

"Umm...well Harry. Something that many people would frown upon. You want to know?" He added mischievously. Truth was, it was frowned upon, though he could hardly think of a reason why it would be against the law. No one had ever escaped Azkaban, so there weren't many laws that were in place for such an occasion.

Nodding furiously at Sirius, the baby gurgled his "yes" out quickly. Little Prongs Junior was every bit the marauder. His father's son in more than just looks. Sirius was quiet pleased for that fact, it would make turning his godson into a prankster so much easier for him.

Smile still in place, one that would have let the teachers of Hogwarts give out a collective shudder, Sirius explained. "Well, Harry, I'm going to borrow your grandfather's wand."

Seeing that this meant very little to the child, Sirius continued to explain. He didn't care that it would probably mean nothing to him whether it was explained better anyway. "Your dad and I could change wands all the time. They were very close in makes. Both had dragon heartstrings inside of it. Mind was eleven and a half inches, and your father's was just eleven. Though his was mahogany and mine was cherry wood. Really close either way."

Harry just continued to watch Sirius as his godfather started looking boxes again. Catching on to the trend, Harry opened a box too. He used the edge to hold himself up so he wouldn't wobble around and risk landing on his bottom.

"Now, Emeralds, if memory serves me...and it usually does when it comes to breaking rules...your grandfather's wand was very close to your dad's. All the same except Mr. Potter's was fourteen inches long. I don't know if that makes..." Sirius trailed off to look up at Harry, who was calling to get his attention.

In the little boys fist was a ruler. He looked expectantly at Sirius to ask if this was what he was looking for.

"No, good try though. Wands are round, not flat, baby." Sirius informed the child, who merely shrugged and went to the next box.

Deciding to keep a running dialogue, Sirius continued. "Now, if this wand works for me, then we're in business Harry. James pretty much went totally sentimental after they died and put a lot of your grandparent's things into this place. Though I don't see the significance of a ruler." He muttered, confused.

The next few boxes turned up nothing. And mentally, Sirius was just waiting for the inevitable explosion of Boo when she saw the mess. Considering that there was no female presence in the two's lives – and chances were there wouldn't ever be – Boo had taken over a bit of a matriarch's role.

"Sir?" Harry asked, holding out a wooden spoon. If James had been alive Sirius would have had a long discussion with him over what was worth saving and what could be thrown away.

Shaking his head again, Sirius turned down the cooking implement. "Nah, Emeralds. Closer though,"

"James, if you weren't already dead..." Sirius growled again after another ten minutes had gone by. "You save rulers, wooden spoons, pencils and a cocktail stirrer. But where the hell are their wands?"

**_BANG_**

A loud explosion ran across the room seconds after the words had left Sirius's mouth. Smoke filled the area and after a few seconds it cleared.

Sirius was thankful he was sitting down, or else he would have collapsed.

The room was now a very violent shade of magenta. Teddy bears were covering the floor and green vines were coming from the ceiling.

And standing in the very center of it all was a soot covered Harry, who was holding James' father's wand in his hand. Had Sirius not been in shock himself he would have found the look in the child's face to be rather comical. Harry looked shocked, amazed and quiet pleased with himself, all at the same time.

"Well, I guess we found the wand..." Sirius faintly stated as Harry nodded. Both of them were nearly half buried in the bears.

With a loud screech a monkey fell into Sirius's lap from the vines above. The fully-grown auror looked at the monkey as though he'd never seen anything like it. Then his head moved up to the now guilty looking Harry.

"New rule...Harry never touches wands."

------------------------------------The Next Day

The mess in the storage room had taken quiet some time to clean up. Though, with Sirius's new wand, the time was cut in half from what it would have been. The wand accepted him and gave him no troubles after a few simple spells. Which is exactly what Sirius had been hoping for.

Their life at Emerald's Palace was far quieter than what Sirius was used to. It was probably how James and Lily would have had it, had they lived. With the house elves though, they weren't entirely in a world of domesticity. Considering that Sirius didn't have to cook or clean.

Actually, it was almost like Hogwarts again.

The pain of losing Lily and James was always in Sirius's mind. But as time went by, time spent with Harry, the pain lessened. Having a purpose helped also. Sirius's only goal in life was to keep his godson happy and healthy.

Harry, in turn, was doing his part to help Sirius through. When the deadened look of Azkaban slid into his godfather's eyes, the child did anything and everything he could think of to bring Sirius back to the present, where he was far away from the hell of his former prison.

As much as Sirius wanted to stay just as they were, Remus was always in his mind also. Would Moony believe him? Could they risk it? His mind told his heart – which was fighting for Remus to get a chance to at least hear the truth – that it was not possible. And on top of that, it could not be risked.

If he and Harry were caught then that would mean the end of their life together. And that could not be risked. Not with the Dursleys as a constant threat. They needed to stay in hiding.

And that was all there was to it.

Sadly, his mind's resolve did little to keep thoughts of his only other best friend from his head.

"PAD-FU!"

The newer – and closer to the truth – version of his name was yelled out like a war cry. A war cry that successfully managed to pull him out of his musings. And even if that didn't, the handful of mashed carrots would have done the trick.

Sirius wiped the orange mess from his eyes and opened them again. Harry was sitting in his highchair gearing up to throw another handful his way. Yet again, once sad thoughts entered his mind, there was his rather marauder-ish godson ready to pull him out of it.

Before he could comment on the lovely mess on his face another handful of the offending substance was flying at him. The child's aim was pretty good, as he was hit head on again.

Sirius sent a withering glare heavenward, where Lily and James were no doubt having a wonderful time laughing at his predicament. The little boy started to giggle madly, very pleased with himself and what his actions had accomplished. And Sirius couldn't exactly blame him either, as he was sure that he looked interesting all covered in a mashed up orange mess.

Instead of reprimanding his godson, Sirius decided a different approach. He gathered his own handful of the carrots and flung them back at their original thrower, hitting Harry square in the face.

The baby shut up instantly.

"Life lesson Harry, never mess with a marauder unless you're ready to take their retaliation. Seriously, didn't Prongs teach you anything?"

Padfoot was sincerely hoping that if James was laughing at him that had shut him up as good as the carrots had shut up Harry.

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_Okay, that chapter wasn't quiet what I had planned. The basic premise of this chapter was meant to be where Sirius got a wand that worked, and so you could see how Harry would be raised. I hope you did like it though. But feel free to tell me it sucked, as I would be forced to agree with you. _

**Takemeunder23- **_I was trying to think of a good nickname for Harry, and I thought Emeralds would work, luckily you all agreed. Thanks for the review, and the patient waiting. _

**Lady FoxFire- **_Because that would mess up my plot? LOL, I have no reason why they wouldn't other than they can't for this story to work. Good question though, thanks. _

**Christy the Angel- **_I like the penname. Big on angels, hu? Anyway, I'm glad you liked the cuteness. I'm trying to intersperse this with mush, at least before I start to cause problems. Thanks for the review!_

**Padfootluver- **_Thanks for the compliment. I personally don't think I'm that great, but I still like hearing that other people do. Hehe. As for Harry's speech, I know that no child has perfect speech. Even after I age Harry a bit, he won't talk perfectly. So don't worry about that. Thanks!_

**Athenakitty- **_Sirius already pretty much knows what the articles will say, so I don't think I'll have him read them. At least not now. And as for your questions, they do give me an idea as to what you want or don't want. So that I do like. Thanks for reviewing! _

**HoshiHikari4ever- **_I'll work out the Voldemort aspect eventually. I don't know quiet yet. I'm glad you liked the chapter, thanks for the review!_

**Hermoine21- **_Thank you!_

**Yana5- **_If that's your view on Dumbledore, you may have some problems later on in the second story if it's written, as he is a major part. Maybe I'll be able to change your mind for that one story, either way though, he's in it. Though, I admit that I'm not too pleased with Dumbledore after the last one either. Thanks for reviewing. _

**BlindJedi- **_I agree completely. I realized after the whole thing had been written that the responses equaled the story length pretty much. But I like how the chapter had gone so I decided to let it slide this time. I'm trying to lengthen chapters, but sometimes it doesn't work. Thanks!_

**Luvguurl- **_I want to show how close they are, so I'm glad you like it. Updates may slow a bit though. Sorry. But thanks for the review!_

**Yami Rose- **_Next chapter Harry is older. Thanks for the review, I hope you like the older version of Harry. _

**Korrd**- _Lupin makes appearances in this one. I don't know how much of him you want, but I can guarantee some. Thanks for the review. _

**Wolfawaken- **_Here's more, I hope you liked it. Thanks!_

**Stinky Stan- **_Yep, he does have Harry to cheer him up, which you saw with the carrots. LOL. I love writing for baby Harry, and here's to hoping I'll enjoy little boy Harry too. Thanks for reviewing. _

**PrincessSkywalkerOrgana- **_Yeah, perk to fanficiton, mistakes are allowed. Thanks for the review! _


	8. Musing After Four Years

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Musing After Four Years

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_Thanks to all of the reviewers. Okay, I know that when I read stories like this, I usually don't like when the author flashes forward, but sadly it needed to be done. I can't very well make the star of the story a one year old the whole way though, now can I?_

_This is four years later, hence the title of the chapter. Harry is now five._

_---------------------------------_-Emerald's Palace

Sirius watched with a smile as Harry ran around, trying to catch the fireflies. The warm summer air breezed past them, and Sirius just sat back and let Harry run himself into exhaustion. A very useful tactic when one had a hyperactive five year old to contend with.

Every day Harry grew more into James, though his own person at the same time. In looks, he was James with Lily's eyes, and that was all there was to it. His godson would be hearing that his whole life from people who had known his parents.

But in personality, he wasn't quite the same. Yes, he was very hyperactive, an adjective used for James and Sirius many times. He was stubborn, though quick to back down if the war was against Sirius himself. Harry was shy, and that wasn't something that anyone would have expected from the son of a marauder and the fiery redhead, Lily Evans.

Not painfully so, just occasionally Harry would do something that suggested that he was in fact shy. It was hard to tell, there wasn't really anyone to be shy around. He knew all of the house elves, and he knew Sirius. So no one was really sure how he would react to new people.

For the time being, however, they'd just let that remain a mystery. With everyday that went by, Harry grew closer and closer to Hogwarts. And that thought scared Sirius.

There wasn't a whole lot that could scare him anymore, and Hogwarts should be pretty far down that short list. But the betrayal of his best friend - and the much smaller betrayal of the headmaster - had shaken his trust in the place he'd called home for seven years.

"Siri! Look!" Harry screamed happily. And once again, Sirius was dragged out of his depressing thoughts by his godson, who had perfected these interruptions to an art form.

In Harry's hands was a firefly, blinking furiously for freedom. "I caught 'im for you." The little boy stated in a way that would make a woman turn to mush.

Sirius knew this for a fact, because he was practically ready to do the same. "Thanks, Emeralds. How many did you get so far?"

"I didn't count this time." Harry replied. It was usually a tradition for Harry to count as many as he could get, reaching pretty high in numbers.

His godson was already turning out to be a very smart little boy. He could read, for starters. Though Sirius was still unclear as to how. He and Boo hadn't even begun talking about teaching him until his fourth birthday. But only weeks after Harry had started walking around with one of the books from the library in his lap. Sirius had found it immensely cute that his godson was pretending to read and had called in the house elves.

Needless to say, they'd all been a little surprised when they realized he wasn't pretending.

"Here, let me take him. You know, spend some quality time before we set him free, and you go catch some more. Show 'em whose boss!" Sirius suggested with an indigent war cry.

Harry giggled and nodded, "You be nice to him, Padfoot!" He warned as he transferred the firefly to Sirius's much larger hands. "I'm gonna go get some more."

"Have fun." Sirius smiled and sent Harry on his way. The little boy ran off and started chasing them again.

Their attire for the night was far from black tie. Sirius was clad merely in some jeans while Harry ran around in a pair of shockingly red shorts. As time went on, they became more and more isolated from everyone else.

Making your bed? Why do it? You'd only get back in later. Get dressed all the way? Why ever would you get dressed nicely if you were the only ones around? Keep up with popular authors and singers? Nah, who cares what they think?

It was their own little world, just Harry and Sirius. The house elves were there, most prominently Boo. But the house elves were different, they didn't care what their masters did so long as it wasn't harmful to them.

If he and Harry ever did head back into their own world, it would be quite the culture shock. But as Harry grew up, Sirius knew that they would have to do something. He couldn't allow his godson to grow up unable to figure out how to act around people.

He'd been planning it for years, a trip out for some shopping. He and Harry had talked about it before, eager to see the old Marauder haunts. The joke shop was first on their list. When Sirius felt the time was right, a few well-placed glamour charms would be cast and they'd be off to Diagon Alley.

Sirius watched his godson leap out at a firefly from behind a bush. Whether sneak attacks were necessary for fireflies had yet to be discovered. But Sirius could tell that Harry was getting sleepy. Which is exactly what had made him suggest a nice pre-bedtime firefly excursion.

You'd be crafty too if you had a little boy to take care of. Because, as everyone knew, little boys could play dirty too.

"Baby, it's time to go in." Sirius called. He'd continued to call his godson "baby" even though Harry wasn't one anymore. It was a term of endearment, and Sirius wasn't going to stop using it. It was hard enough that Harry was getting older.

The day that Harry told him that he couldn't be called baby anymore was going to be a sad day. One that was also for the milestone journal. Sirius had thought it would be quite funny for future reference to have a book that held all of the major events of Harry's life.

He couldn't wait to read back the entry that he'd written on the day he realized he was going to have to start potty-training Harry.

"Aww, Siri, can't I stay out longer?" Harry pouted. A tactic that worked with house elves, but did not work on godfathers. It was worth a try, however.

Scooping up the little boy into his arms, Sirius responded, "Stick that bottom lip back in, Harry. And no, you can't stay out longer. I've already given you a extra half an hour."

Bedtimes were an evil concept, and this was a fact that both Harry and Sirius agreed upon. Which meant that Harry had to go to bed at a time that Sirius chose, varying on the day's activities and the situation. Parenting books around the world scolded him for it, too.

Rules were often few and far between. And boundaries and limits were practically swear words. They did actually have a few rules though, really more for safeties sake.

When Sirius says bed, it is to be obeyed.

No coffee for Sirius in the morning.

No bribing the house elves to help in pranks.

Harry is not to touch wands.

And, most importantly, no spending more than a half an hour in the library in one day.

These rules were the laws of the castle, and were followed as such. There were other peace treaties that had been instated during the last four years also, though those were not rules and could be broken. Not that either one of them was ready to break the one about putting foreign objects into each other's foods.

"Wha'a we going to do tomorrow, Sirius?" Harry asked, eyes drooping in spite of his previous resistance to sleep.

Pondering the question, Sirius stayed silent for second. "Well, I don't know. We could hide the house elves cleaning equipment." He said after a second, mischievous grin on his face.

"I want to live to six." Harry retorted in a dry tone, proving just how much time he spent with his godfather.

"Good point."

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_Fluffy chapter. I hope you like it, though I'm not sure I do. _

_I also want to mention that I am not doing reviewer responses now. They take up too much room, and so I'm ending them. I want to thank you all yet again, though, you make writing this story worthwhile. If you want the full scope, I wrote a much better explanation in chapter four of The Return of the Father. _

_**Please, let me know what you think!**_


	9. Non Believers

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Non-Believers

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_Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all of the reviews for the last chapter. Things are a bit mushy right now, but have no fear, I'm armed and ready with an outline full of drama. This chapter is for everyone out there whose been wanting some Remus. Or at least everyone who wants some Remus angst._

-----------------------------------Dumbledore's Office

Remus Lupin walked down the stone corridors of Hogwarts Castle. He's spent some much time there he could swear to anyone that they could blindfold him and he'd still be able to walk around. And he could show off secret passages at the same time.

That had been a specialty of the Marauders. Secret passage finding. They'd go off to class and something would catch someone's eye. Ways to get into the Gryffindor common room from an entirely different floor. Ways to get the Slytherin common room, which had come in handy during many pranks. They were sure that they'd found a few that not even Dumbledore or Filch knew of.

It was memories like those that made his current life seem so unbelievable. Had he gone back in time and tried to warn his seventeen-year-old self of the dangers of the future, all he would get out of the younger Remus was a suggestion for the funny farm. Sirius Black betraying James Potter? Padfoot, who was always so quick to defend Peter, ending up going to Azkaban for killing him? James, so full of life, actually dying? No, too far fetched. The full moon had addled his brains.

There were still sometimes when the doubts would rise to the forefront of his mind. Peter wasn't dead, and James wasn't either. Harry and Lily were perfectly fine and Sirius was completely innocent.

But these days and moments were becoming far fewer. Horrible reality had long since sunken in and acceptance was closely following. There was nothing he could do to change it, no matter how hard he tried or wanted it.

After only a short walk Remus reached the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. How many times had he been in there before? Towards the end of the Marauder's seven years it was once every few days. "Mars Bars." Remus spoke quietly to the stone statue, which sprang to life and jumped out of the way, admitting the werewolf entrance to Dumbledore's office.

Once the spiral steps were cleared, Remus went inside without knocking. Acceptance aside, he'd been there once every three months to ask if there had been any news. This month no exception. Never mind the fact that Dumbledore would fire-call him if there were any news. It was basically the only thing that he could do to be useful.

"Hello, Remus." Dumbledore greeted, blue eyes twinkling at his former pupil. Remus had always been more grounded than the others of the Marauder group. A fact that Dumbledore had appreciated greatly during their school years.

Taking his customary seat on the other side of the desk, Remus responded. "Good morning, Albus." Dumbledore had long since forced Remus to start calling him Albus over Headmaster or Professor. He pasted on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Which Dumbledore noticed at once, but let pass with no comment. "I trust the last full moon wasn't too horrible. You seem to be looking perfectly fine."

"I am alright, thank you for asking." Remus sighed. They needed an icebreaker. Luckily, there had been something that he'd been dying to ask the aged wizard. "Dumbledore, I heard that Professor Dentra has retired. I've got to ask about the replacement you chose."

"A highly qualified candidate. I couldn't have picked someone more suited for the job." Dumbledore praised with a smirk, knowing how this conversation would go.

Remus's eyebrows rose of their own accord. "Severus Snape?" He couldn't help but snort. "He's qualified to teach students? Scare them, maybe, but teach?"

"There is no better potions master." Dumbledore pointed out, knowing full and well that all of Remus's arguments were correct. But this was not why Remus came, and Dumbledore knew that.

The look on Remus's face was one of questioning Dumbledore's sanity. He wasn't the first. "He'll play favorites. You know how he is towards Gryffindors. Remember how he and James were? They fought all the time, Siri...." He trailed off, mind suddenly snapping back into reality. His eyes were downcast, not wanting to meet those of the Headmaster.

"I do not think you came today to talk about my employment choices." Dumbledore suggested, voice level and clear. "You come each month to ask, and I still have no new news for you, Remus."

Sighing, Remus let what little hope had fade out, just as he had each time before. "I wasn't really expecting anything else."

"But you still hope." Dumbledore finished. Had Remus looked up he would have seen the sympathy in the old man's eyes. Even if Remus couldn't take Harry himself, not knowing where he was made it that much harder for him.

"Of course I do." The younger man spat out a bit harsher than he'd intended. "I can't believe that Sirius would just take him like that."

Wearily, Dumbledore leaned back in his seat. "There are a lot of things about Sirius Black that we would not have guessed or believed before hand." He said. The saddened tone of voice clearly suggested that Dumbledore had once had high hopes for the seemingly light Black.

"I still don't believe it sometimes you know." Remus added, looking anywhere but at Dumbledore's eyes. "I know that it's true. But sometimes the past just doesn't add up. He'd never liked his parents, he hated them and their pure-blood ways. He was so close to James, and he adored Harry."

Those were things that everyone had let run through their mind many times before. Even Dumbledore himself found the past too compelling an argument to ignore. But to dredge up the hurt of Sirius's betrayal only to be disappointed, merely based on his good acting of the past, was far from worth it. "I do believe that he was not acting when he was younger. And somehow, I do not believe that he was anything but hateful towards his parents. Those are things that you cannot act your way through."

"He wasn't prejudice at all towards me. He took it in stride, even at twelve. James too." Remus reminisced. Memories of both James and Sirius were painful to him, even still. Years later it was still not true to him what had happened.

Both men stayed quite for a few moments, but Remus broke the silence. "Do you think he's hurting Harry?"

"I can't honestly say either way." Dumbledore responded sadly. He wished he had some reassurance about the child. But until the day they met up again, if they ever did, he would not know. No one would.

"I wonder if Harry likes living with him? I mean, he and Sirius always got along so well." Remus mused aloud. Could it be true? Could Sirius actually be raising his godson right, even if he was a deatheater who's master had been destroyed by the small child. It was a hope too good to be true, just like the rest of them.

Dumbledore could assure him of nothing, but at the same time, he could not tell Remus differently. "I do not know. All we can do is hope."

"I do hope we'll see Harry again."

"As do I."

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_I don't know if I'm really pleased with this chapter or not. I just wanted to plant that little doubt in Remus's mind. Show everyone how I think he felt about the whole thing. Please, let me know what you think! _


	10. Questioning the Laws

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Questioning the Laws

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_Hey guys, thank so much for all of the reviews you sent my way. I'm sorry this took so long to get out! Things are a little hectic in my room right now, as it's being painted. So I was hoping to get this out before we had to disconnect the computer. Sadly, it didn't end up going that way. So again, sorry!_

_This chapter is in the POV of Harry, then later Sirius. Italics represent thoughts for later in the chapter._

_------------------------------------_Emerald's Palace

There was some sort of rule that the bed felt most comfy when you had to get out of it. Somewhere, somehow, this was a rule.

Harry snuggled closer to his pillow. His eyes were screwed shut, attempting to block out the earliest of the sunshine. It very rarely rained on their property. The weather was controlled partly by Harry's feelings. Only when he was especially sad or when Mother Nature just had to get her way did it rain in Emerald's Palace. And Harry was hardly ever sad.

His eyes snapped open when he realized why he wanted to get up so early. To prank Sirius. The bedside clock – which featured a broomstick as the hour hand and a beater's bat as the minute hand – read 7:15. It was early for them, they hardly ever got up before 9:30.

Quietly as he could, the five year old slid out of his bed. The ground below his feet was just as warm, so he wasn't shocked by the temperature change. He padded across the room to the door, where he would slip out to get to Padfoot's room, which was only a few doors down. In between the rooms was Harry's old nursery. But when he turned four, he and Padfoot had made this room his.

The room was a dark blue with sparkly white trim. Snitchs and broomsticks were a prominent factor in the bedroom.

Harry was smiling to himself as he opened the door. From behind him there was an audible crack. "Harry! What's little master doing out of bed?"

Groaning quietly, Harry turned around to face the house elf. He should have known she would want to know why he was creeping around so early. "Boo, I'm just getting a drink of water." He said, lying through his teeth. He knew it wouldn't work, but at least it could buy him time.

Waving a long finger in his face, Boo didn't buy it. "Master Harry has a glass of water by his bed." She said in a long-suffering tone. Between Harry and Sirius, she had her job cut out for her.

"All right, I'm goin' to Sirius's room." Harry said truthfully this time. He let his head bow as he waited for her to drag him back to bed.

But Boo did not. "Boy is going to be bad, isn't he?" she asked. "Master Harry is going to be pranking Master Black."

Smiling lightly, Harry nodded. "Don't tell him, okay Boo?" he asked hopefully. He was about to put his hands together and ask again when Boo's face changed from stern to mischievous.

"Harry is not making a mess for Boo and other elves right?" She asked slyly.

Knowing what she was implying, Harry quickly but on a earnest face, "No, never. I won't make a mess."

"Boo is doing things in the kitchen. Boo never saw the young Master." She said and with a final wink in his direction, disappeared.

Suppressing a whoop of joy, Harry resumed his walk toward Sirius's room. He knew he could count on Boo. The little boy looked from side to side before entering his godfather's bedroom, as though there was someone there to catch him. When he was satisfied that there wasn't he headed in.

Sure enough, Sirius was not even close to being conscious. Sirius was a hard sleeper, and nothing could wake him up – with the exception of a cry from Harry. Giggling despite his prankster training, Harry snuck up to the bathroom.

Per usual, there was glass for water sitting next to the sink and Harry grabbed it. He turned the faucet on so little so that Sirius wouldn't hear him. The water came out so slow that Harry had to wait almost a full minute to get the whole thing full.

He moved quietly, holding the glass with both hands. He tried to be careful, but the water was filled to the rim, so it sloshed out from side to side. It leaked down his hands and made little splashes on the floor. Maybe he'd filled it too high. He crossed the room slowly, and then placed the glass on the nightstand.

The dark wooden rod next to Sirius's bed caught his eye. For as long as Harry could remember he hadn't been allowed to touch Sirius's wand. But why? Sirius never said, it was just one of their few rules.

Maybe, if he bended the rule just a bit, he could use the wand and pranks Sirius real good. And maybe the prank would be so good that he wouldn't get mad. Justifying the action in his mind, Harry picked up the wand.

The wand pulsed in his hand and Harry quickly decided that he liked the magic feeling. But what to say? He heard Sirius saying the cleaning charm a lot, but that wouldn't do him any good. Deciding to wave it around a bit and see what happened, Harry raised the wand over his head.

Giving the foreign – and forbidden – object a bit of a wave, Harry couldn't even guess what happened next. A loud crack erupted and he felt himself get smaller and smaller. His whole body was changing.

_Okay, this wasn't what I wanted! _Harry thought frantically. He tried to give himself a once over, but was quickly alarmed to see yellow paws. He was on all fours too, and was hardly taller than where the blankets hang down from the bed.

Panic rising, Harry tried to figure out how to get to Sirius. He shouldn't have touched the wand, bad things happened when you touched a wand. Never again would he wave something wooden and circular around in the air again.

The bed was so much higher than he was. How would he ever manage to get up there? Harry jumped up in the air, but couldn't quite get high enough. _Sirius! Get up! _

Sadly, his mental yells came up as nothing in whatever form he was in. Looking wildly down at himself, Harry forced himself to be calm.

_Claws, I have claws!_ He thought happily, he could claw his way up! Testing out his theory, Harry jumped up and stuck to the blanket with his claws. This proved to be harder said than done, as he fell right back down. _That hurt!_

Steeling himself, Harry marched backwards a few steps. He broke into a run – which was a bit harder now that he had two extra legs – and leaped. This time when he got his claws into the blanket, they stayed in the blanket.

With all his arm strength, which as a five year old wasn't a lot – and pulled himself up. _Almost there, come on_

Kicking with his legs, Harry got all the way up and collapsed on the bed. After a minute of breathing time, he started to walk on Padfoot. _Maybe I'll get a prank in anyway. I was gonna pour water on him..._

Self-control long gone, Harry started licking Sirius's face. _Wake up time, Padfoot!_

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Sirius moaned and waved his hand in front of his face. How dare that other dog lick his face? He was in the middle of a dogfight with some other dog. You do not back down in the middle of a fight.

It only took a minute for him to realize that the dog was in fact a lion cub.

Eyes snapping open immediately, Sirius pushed aside the strange animal. "How in hell did a lion get in here!?" he yelled, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

The animal immediately backed off, running to the edge of the bed and looking at him with big green eyes. Sirius's own silvery blue eyes narrowed. He knew those eyes. That green was pretty hard to duplicate.

His hand instinctively reached over for his wand. His eyes widened when he didn't feel it in its customary space. Looking around, he was surprised to see it was on the ground. "How'd it get down there?" He muttered.

He looked at the glass on the table, who would fill at glass that high? And he didn't have a glass of water either. His wand was on the ground, a strange glass of water had materialize and now he had a lion cub sitting on his bed – a lion cub with familiar green eyes.

Realization dawned on his face, he turned back slowly to look at the little frightened cub. "Harry?" he whispered. Slowly, the cub nodded but did not venture back up the bed.

His godson was a lion.

With unheard of speed for Sirius Black during an early wakeup call, he shot down to the end of the bed. Carefully, he picked up the cub, who was now staring at him looking as relieved as an animal could get. "Did you touch my wand?"

Again, the cub nodded.

This was exactly why rules were in place. Rules such as, "Harry never touches wands". His godson had managed to transfigure himself into an animal. Quite the feat for a five year old. "Okay, baby, did you say any words?" he asked as soothingly as he could. Lion or not, he could read Harry's eyes. And they were currently displaying some intense fear.

The lion – who he now knew to be Harry – shook his head back and forth. Sirius couldn't help but consider him cute. "You know, you make a pretty cute lion." Sirius snickered.

Growling for all he was worth, Harry tried his best to look intimidating. It failed miserably, and he soon gave it up.

Sirius grabbed the wand from the floor. "Okay, let's hope I know what you did." He muttered. But animal hearing caught it. Harry looked panicked again. "Don't worry, Emeralds, I'll change you back." He assured the distraught little boy.

Whispering a few quick words, Sirius pointed his wand and the animal in his lap. The small creature quickly grew and front legs returned to their arm status. Harry blinked a few times. "Am I a boy?"

"You most certainly are." Sirius said as he pulled his godson into a bear hug. "Now, do we understand why wands aren't toys?" he said as patronizingly as he could. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I guess you've got it." Sirius said sheepishly.

They hugged again and Harry silently thanked god that he wasn't an animal anymore. "Okay, Baby, what do you say to some pancakes?"

"Yum!" Harry cried happily. Sirius picked him up and the two left the room

From the corner, Boo smiled. They didn't ever need to know about her camera, did they?

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_I'm not entirely sure I'm pleased with the chapter. This is actually one of the last fluffy ones there will be. We swing back into the drama within a chapter or two. As you might have been able to guess, I don't feel I'm very good with fluffy things like this. It also takes me longer to write, which is why updates have been a bit slower than my normal standards. I just wanted to give everyone an idea about their lifestyle though. _

_Please, crappy or not, review! _

**_Stars Enchantress_**


	11. A Decision

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **A Decision

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_Hello everyone! Thanks so much to all of the reviewers, you're all great. This chapter is setting up what's to come within the next few, so I hope you like what I'm planning. _

_I'm sorry for the long wait. Not only did I have a few projects and papers to deal with, I actually just got a baby for Child Development class. It cries and all those goodies. I named it Jujubean. If I ever need another elf name, that's gonna be it, just in honor of my sleepless night with a crying plastic kid. _

----------------------------------Emerald's Palace

Harry ran like a child possessed, and Sirius trailed behind him wishing there was such as thing as an 'off' button for children. And it wasn't actually the first time he'd wished about such a thing. The little boy had gotten into a stash of chocolate frogs and the rest was blurry history.

True to his parentage, too much sugar had adverse effects on the child. A lesson that Sirius had learned many times over. As if Harry wasn't pretty much a hyperactive child already, adding a sugar high induced boost of energy really wasn't helping the matter.

"Harry James Potter, you stop right now!" Sirius called ahead of him as Harry disappeared around a corner. He was pretty sure that the child knew the castle better than he did, seeing as they'd already been down two hallways that Sirius had not been sure existed until then.

All he was given in response, unsurprisingly, was a mad giggle and a flash of his red pants as he flew into a doorway. Sirius had a new found sympathy for his friends and teachers at Hogwarts, being that both he and James were very much like Harry.

Sirius opened the door, praying that this was a dead-end and Harry would soon be captured and put down for a nap. "Oh bloody hell...." He groaned.

A music room. Since when did the castle have a room full of musical instruments, thereby providing a million hiding places for a small child?

This was a game for them though, Harry loved hide and seek. He was good at hiding. And Sirius wondered in all honesty if it was because Harry was a major player in one big game of hide and seek. His godson might not have realized it yet, though he did know the truth, but they were. Sirius and Harry were the ones hiding, and the rest of the world was looking.

From time to time Sirius considered letting themselves be found. If he could just talk to Dumbledore one on one, with no hatred and prejudice, would the outcome be different? Would the wise wizard believe in him, though he had not in the past? There was so much at risk, and so much to gain at the same time.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, or even think of it, he could not keep Harry there forever. There was so much in life to experience, so much to see and so many people to meet that Sirius couldn't bear the thought of Harry missing out on such joys.

But the world was as unkind as it was magical. And Sirius, who was looking in a drum set, knew that far better than anyone else. A man he trusted and a person he considered to be a brother had imprisoned him in hell...all for someone else's crime.

Could he let Harry go long enough to see things, but not loose him in the process? There were so many things that could go wrong. And Harry was much too young to be let out by himself.

Sirius smirked as he glanced around a group of harps. They didn't know that he had a wand. They didn't know that he could alter his appearance, and Harry's. They could go out, they could see the people and all of the shops of Diagon Alley.

They could do all that and more. Sirius's mind had spent many a night dreaming of bringing James's son into the joke shops and the ice cream parlor. All of his father's old haunts. All of the places that the marauder's spent their time.

He knew that Harry would love every moment of it. And he knew that Harry deserved to see such a big part of his father's world. Of the world that he'd come from. No matter how safe they were in this world that Sirius had created. And as much Sirius wanted to pretend that it would all be for Harry, he knew that wasn't the truth. That small part of him that annoyingly kept coming up always whispered in his mind just how much seeing all of that again would mean to him.

His mind swirled with thoughts of his past, and the pictures of he and James meshed until Sirius was showing Harry all sorts of things about the magical alley. Harry had to know about the world. And he needed to know how to act around people.

Sirius walked past the brass section, knowing that Harry could not fit in a trumpet, no matter how little and flexible he was. A bit of red caught his eye and he backtracked a few steps, trying to determine if it was his imagination or not.

The massive tuba sat in the center of the trumpets, saxophones and other instruments. Just big enough to house a little boy. Smiling manically Sirius tapped the outside of it. "Hello in there!"

Yet again, his only response was a giggle. Though, this time it was hushed and slightly muffled. He couldn't wait till Harry grew up enough where he could no longer hide in small spaces.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go find another little boy to surprise." Sirius said with a dejected sigh. Surprises were a weakness of Harry's.

As if on cue the tuba rumbled and Harry tumbled out. "No! No, I'm here Padfoot!" he yelled.

Pretending to look surprised, Sirius mock gasped. "Well, I suppose you are. Good thing too, I didn't want to take another person with me."

Harry's face lit up. Sirius loved making his godson look at him like that. For a little boy who had already seen so much tragedy, a look that said his whole world had been brightened was enough to cause anyone to push through their own troubles. "Where are you goin', Siri?"

Reaching forward, Sirius snatched up Harry and set him down on a nearby piano. "The question is, my dear godson, where are _we_ going?"

Nodding quickly, Harry amended himself. "Okay, where are **_we_** going?" he asked, putting quite a bit of emphasis on the 'we' of his sentence. He really should have understood by then that everything they did was done as a 'we'.

"Did I ever tell you about Diagon Alley?" Sirius asked, knowing full and well that he had. Too many good pranks had occurred there for Sirius not to mention the place. Harry always relished in the marauder stories.

Enthusiasm ran wild in the child. Sirius always had the best surprises. Maybe it would be another story about his Daddy, Siri and Moony. Those were always good. Better than his fairy tale books. "Yep, you did!" he chirped.

"Good, good, then you'll know exactly where we are when we go in two days." Sirius said, sounding matter of a fact.

Harry narrowed his eyes for a second, did Sirius just say what he thought he had? "We're going ta Digon'elly?"

Grinning, Sirius prepared himself for the inevitable squeals of excitement. He simply nodded to tell Harry that yes, they were going.

His mouth dropped open as Harry realized what Sirius was implying. "We're goin'!?" he yelled. His face lit up, just the way that Sirius had been hoping for. It was so easy to make his godson happy. And it was also so worth it.

"Excited?" Sirius asked the obvious.

The scenarios of all that they could do ran rampant through the child's overactive mind. His face was practically hurting him because of all the smiling he was doing. They would have so much fun. They could go all the time. Why hadn't Sirius thought of this before?

The smile slid from his face.

There was a reason why they didn't go before. Sirius could not leave their house. The bad ministry wizards would come and take him away. He felt Sirius's hands gently hold his face.

Sirius watched, alarmed, as Harry's smile faded away. Did he not want to go? He'd been so happy just a second ago. "Harry? Emeralds, what's wrong? Do you not want to go?"

"No!" Harry yelled. He clenched his fists at the thought of losing his godfather. He quickly threw his arms around Sirius's neck and held on tight.

The devoted godfather could not figure out what was wrong. He knew Harry so well, and there usually weren't words required between the two. He had reached a place where just sitting in a room doing separate things, but still being in each other's presence, was enough for both of them. This was unexpected. He didn't know what was going through the child's mind.

"Harry, baby, what's wrong? Why don't you want to go? You seemed so excited." He whispered in the child's ear as he gently rubbed his back in soothing motions. He'd gotten good at comforting a small child.

The little boy merely shook his head. He wasn't crying, luckily, but he wasn't pulling away either. He seemed tense.

Sirius tried again. "Harry, answer me, please? We don't have to go if you don't want to. I just thought you'd have fun. Just tell me why." He wondered. If Harry truly wasn't ready to leave their home then Sirius wouldn't push. They could wait a little while. Maybe Harry was too young for such a thing. The thoughts of the harsh world rang back in Sirius's mind. Maybe he should have trusted his original instincts.

"They'll take you away." Harry muttered, voice obscured by the broad shoulder that he was resting his head on.

It took only seconds for Sirius to realize what Harry was speaking of. Why hadn't he explained better? He'd barely had the chance before Harry had gotten upset. And no wonder why. They'd had more than enough discussions on what had happened that night on Halloween.

Albus Dumbledore had no doubt wanted to shield Harry from knowing his legacy. And on some aspects Sirius agreed. He wanted to preserve his godson's innocence for as long as humanly possible, and then some.

But he'd realized that by doing that, when Harry did find out his whole world could come crashing down. He'd have to assimilate facts with the lies that had been told to keep the truth away from him. And that would be far worse an experience for the child. So he'd mentioned Lily and James's death. Harry knew of Wormtail, of Voldemort and the prophecy. He knew of lycanthrope, of the illegal animagus transformations. He knew of Snape, and of the Black family. Growing up with the truth was what Sirius wanted for Harry. There would be no horrible bombs that were just waiting to be treaded upon.

And, most of all, Harry knew why they were hidden away. He knew about Azkaban, and of what people thought of his godfather. He knew what they would do if Sirius was ever found. The five year old knew things that parents wouldn't dream of telling their children. But for Harry, things were different. This was his life. And Sirius knew it wouldn't be an easy one.

"Harry, no they won't. I wouldn't do that to you." Sirius reassured the child when his composure was reestablished.

Slowly, Harry pulled away and looked up at Sirius though sad eyes. "They'll see you." He whispered. He wouldn't have a day of fun at his godfather's expense.

"They don't know that I've got a wand, Harry." Sirius continued. The dreaded 'they' was ever present in the conversation. This time, however, both knew who the 'they' were. "We can change how we look! They'll never know it's us!"

Harry thought it over. He'd read books about how to change your appearance. He knew it that it was possible. Could they really do it? Go out pretending to be someone else? It sounded fun. And the smile slowly reappeared to his face. "Okay."

"Okay?" Sirius echoed, ecstatic that his godson's fears had been calmed. "Okay?"

"Okay!" Harry yelled loudly. Calming a little, he went on. "But promise me that you're gonna be careful." He added seriously.

Hand snapping to his heart, Sirius acted silly. But his eyes gave away the seriousness of his promise. "Always, Harry, I promise I will be very careful."

Sirius never broke promises. It was enough for Harry. Seeing this, Sirius snatched up the little boy yet again. "All right, Emeralds, how do you feel about blonde hair?"

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_I hope you liked the chapter. I was hoping to mix some funny parts with the sad, you know, ease you back into the drama aspect. Please let me know what you think!_


	12. Public Enemy

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Public Enemy

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_Hello to you all! Thanks so much to all of the reviewers! I'm glad that no one was especially against what I'm planning. Drama will arise, so be prepared for that._

------------------------------------Sewers Under London

The rat called Wormtail raced underneath the streets of London. Muggle London no less. For a animal so small, a rat was surprisingly quick. It was easy to move about in the slimy tunnels. And once you got used to the smell, it only made it that much easier.

But Peter Pettigrew was not used to the smell of the sewers. He wasn't used to hunting for his food and facing other – real – rats. But he had no choice. This was the result of a choice. Of course, he would have chosen differently had he know the outcome would be this.

The plan had been foolproof on his end. Sirius and James had chosen him to be the secret keeper for the Potters. Why, he would never really know. But he had his guesses. They thought that little Peter was too weak. That he wasn't anyone's choice for anything important.

They were wrong.

It was ironic, because Sirius and James were never wrong. Nor was Remus. But there they were, one dead, one alone and one a convict. All because they'd been wrong. Look who was the winner now!

The past still brought a small smile to his pale, drawn out face. All those conversations with Remus about how Sirius had to be the traitor. How torn up the werewolf had been to even suggest such a thing. And Peter had been right there next to him, agreeing in the horror of it all. But he'd agreed with all of Remus's speculations, telling him that it had to be Sirius.

And then, sometimes not hours later, he would be with Sirius mulling over how dear Moony could be the traitor. How Sirius wished that it was someone else, but how all the evidence pointed to Remus. Not that there was a lot of evidence on either end, but with the times people needed little evidence.

He played his part very well. The Dark Lord would have been so happy with him had things gone right.

For a while, things had done just that. He knew the secret keeper to be Sirius. It wouldn't take long for someone with as much power as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to find Sirius Black. But then Sirius, in all his clever glory, had come up with a new plan. A plan that made things so much easier for he and his master. 

They changed the secret keeper to Wormtail.

Peter relished in the fact that James had signed his own death certificate. The dark lord would get Harry and James, and then there would be no threats to him.

But that wasn't how it went. That stupid little child had defeated his lord. How, no one knew. But he had done it. Once the news had reached Peter he knew what he had to do. There was no one who knew that Peter was the secret keeper, no one alive anyway, except Sirius. Not Remus or Dumbledore. Not Arabella. Just Sirius.

So he framed him, he cut off his own finger, transformed and sped away. Leaving Sirius with the aftermath. In his dreams, Sirius's laughter still floated in his mind. But that would only help the Ministry's case. Finally, Sirius's tendency to laugh when he should cry would catch up to him.

Peter anticipated a life of extreme ease afterwards. Yes, he would have to hide, but he had enough money to burrow up in the old flat that the Marauders – and only the Marauders – knew he owned. Remus wouldn't dare go there after he thought his friend to be dead.

But Sirius screwed things up again. He got out of Azkaban. _Azkaban_. The only person to ever escape was the only person in the place that was a threat to him.

So Peter had left, he ran far and wide. He had to stay hidden from Sirius at all times. But now he had a new plan. He had framed Sirius once, he could do it again. All he had to do was find them.

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**Minister of Magic Ends Four-Year Search for Harry Potter!**

_**By Rita Skeeter**_

_The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, held a press conference last week to announce that the Ministry would be calling off its search for Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. _

_As many remember, four years ago the child who defeated the Dark Lord was sent to live with his muggle relatives in a undisclosed location. Albus Dumbledore, head of choosing where to place the child, said that he would grow up under the protection of many wards and away from the public glare. Disbelief of such a choice ran rampant through the wizarding community. Why Dumbledore chose muggle relatives over the hundreds of families who had offered to adopt the child was a mystery to all._

_The protection, it proved, was not enough to keep the little boy safe. Worry once again resurfaced one month later when known Dark Lord supporter Sirius Black escaped from the Azkaban fortress. A feat which was once thought impossible. _

_Our fears were confirmed when it was reported that Harry Potter had been taken from his relatives home in the middle of the night. The bitter truth that the child had been taken by Black stung in the hearts of wizards and witches everywhere. The ministry, naturally, launched a massive search for the child and offered up a reward for any information that could be given. _

_Four years later, the ministry is calling off the search, which had brought forward no results. At the press conference, Minister Fudge sadly stated, "The kidnapping of little Harry Potter is a terrible thing. We have looked long and hard for any leads or locations of Black and the boy, but have turned up only dead ends. There is no solid proof that the child is even alive anymore, or that if he is he will ever be found. We can no longer keep this search going, and have called it off." _

_Once again, the wizarding community was shocked at another – what many consider to be poor – choice was made in regards to the Boy-Who-Lived. Most people are in agreement that this is an unwise choice, and a action that will give up all hope to finding little Harry again. _

_Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster at Hogwart's School, could not be reached for a comment in regards to the press conference. _

_Could the ministry have done more? Were all the leads exhausted? Or was this yet another blunder of a ministry that has many on its record. This special correspondent will be combing the streets for anyone with a comment on the matter. Perhaps, with enough public support, the search can be re-launched. Or is it too much trouble for the Minister of Magic. The wizarding world will soon find out. _

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_I couldn't just forget Peter! So don't be angry, you were all warned before chapter one that he would be here, if you don't remember when, read the story summary! Hehe, it's there._

_Sorry for the shortness, the next one will be longer. It's going to be the Diagon Alley trip, so you'll have that to look forward too. _

_PLEASE REVIEW!  
_

_**Stars Enchantress** _


	13. Diagon Alley

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Diagon Alley

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_Hey there guys! Thanks you for the reviews that you sent my way on the last chapter. This is the long awaited trip to Diagon Alley, well, not really long awaited. This is really a two-part trip, and you'll see why in a bit. Okay, enjoy!_

-------------------------------Emerald's Palace

Boo the house elf prided herself for not getting flustered easily. Maybe in the past, but not in the last four years or so. Not with masters like Sirius Black and Harry Potter. She loved them both dearly, no doubts there. But they were so...different. And so energetic. They were fairly good at remembering to clean up their messes, and they hardly ever made orders.

But on mornings like these, she was really ready to scream.

"Master Harry...sits still. Please, Master, Boo is liking to get this on you!" She pleaded with the excited five year old. Usually Harry listened to her, and to Master Black, but she was certain that they were both too off the wall to listen to anything.

She was currently trying to get on a pair of jean overalls to go over Harry's orange shirt. The little boy had fought valiantly against the shirt, as he hadn't worn one in months and complained that it was annoying him. He squirmed, but in the end Boo had one.

"You ready Harry?" Sirius called from down the hallway. His head popped in the room and survived the house elf's plight. "Here, Boo, I'll take over from here."

Boo wasn't one to give up her duty, but she had other things to do. Gratefully handing the child over to his godfather, Boo disappeared with a snap of her long thin fingers.

"You know, Emeralds, it's not nice to make Boo wring her hands like that." Sirius casually commented as he snapped the overalls on. He wasn't accusing, since he had caused the same reaction from at least twenty of the house elves in their employment. Sirius's black hair fell back into his eyes, as he didn't have it back like he normally did. He was planning on making it short for their trip, and didn't see the point of tying it back for all of an hour of wakefulness before they headed out.

Harry half-heartedly tugged at the strap holding the overalls up, "Am I wearing robes?" He asked. To Sirius's amusement, he paid his godfather's earlier comment no mind. Yep, Harry was a Marauder at heart.

"No, you don't have to." Sirius assured the little boy as he gently yanked his hand away from the strap. "But you have to wear these clothes."

The face that Harry made – crinkling his whole face with this tongue slightly out – was a pretty good indicator of Harry's feelings on overalls. But he didn't comment. As far as Harry was concerned, it was a small price to pay.

Picking his godson up, Sirius and Harry headed downstairs. "So, we agreed on blonde, yes?"

"Yep, blondes." Harry agreed. They had talked at length about the glamour charms that Sirius would be placing on them. An agreement had been reached, along with their cover story.

Sirius set Harry down on the coffee table of the sitting room. Drawing out his wand, Sirius muttered a few words and Harry instantly felt a ticklish feeling fall over his face. After a second, the feeling was gone as quickly as it came, "So?"

Giggling slightly, Sirius conjured up a mirror. "See for yourself."

Harry grabbed the mirror with childlike enthusiasm. Gasping at the reflection in the mirror, Harry could hardly recognize himself.

The blonde hair fell into his eyes, slightly longer than his normal hair was. His hair wasn't white, but a golden color. His eyes, formerly a bright green were now dark brown – as different as they could get without going black. In addition to the color change, his eyes went from a rounded shape to something more oval. His cheekbones were higher up on his face and slightly more pronounced. His lips were thinner than normal, but not drastically so. And, most importantly, his lightning bolt scar was gone.

"Wow." Harry breathed as he continued to take in his new image. Above him, Sirius pointed his wand at himself and said some spells.

"How do I look?" Sirius asked. Harry looked up to see his godfather, who would now be posing as his father.

The hair was the same as Harry's but short. Almost a buzz-cut. Something, which was so un-Sirius like, that Harry couldn't tear his eyes away for a few seconds. Sirius's eyes were the same brown as Harry's. Though, his nose was longer and his ears were shorter. The eye shape was different than what they'd changed Harry's to. His eyes actually looked more along the lines to what Harry's had looked like before the glamours.

"Diff'rent. Really, really different." Harry exclaimed in awe.

Sirius laughed and pulled the mirror away. He examined himself as he spoke. "That is the point, Harry." Sirius snickered, "I'm meant to be immensely handsome in all forms." He sighed, as though this were a hardship for him.

"Sure, Siri." Harry said indulgently, giggling at the stupidity of the statement all the same.

Looking away from the mirror, Sirius sent his godson a pointed look. Of course, this only sent Harry into full-blown laughs.

-------------------------------Outside the Leaky Cauldron

"All right, baby, what's the story?" Sirius asked, kneeling down in front of his godson. Their blonde hair was getting tousled in the wind. The Leaky Cauldron was right in front of them, being ignored by the muggles entirely. But the two wizards saw it, and they knew that this was it.

Harry smiled, "You're my daddy, and your name is Orion Jameson. My name is Evan Jameson. I'm five and I love quidditch. My mommy left a long time ago and I don't remember her." He replied obediently. Sirius had gone over this many times with Harry. He knew it by heart, as if it were the truth.

"Perfect." Sirius nodded his approval. He had originally thought that their names might ring a few bells. But few people knew his middle name. And somehow, he thought that having their names be so obvious that it would be that much harder to trace.

Sirius stood up, holding his hand out for Harry who gratefully took it. They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and Sirius wasn't surprised to see that it was absolutely the same. The old men in the corner were practically the same, though Sirius knew that they were different. The witches and the wizards were still the same as the last time he'd been there. How was it that everything could be so the same, yet so different at the same time?

They'd decided not to linger in the old bar. Sirius kept a firm hold on Harry's hand as they moved through the bar, outside to the back. Pulling out the replacement wand, Sirius tapped the correct brick and smiled down at Harry. "Ready?"

"Ready." Harry agreed as the bricks pulled aside to reveal the archway. Harry hadn't ever seen that many people or things. It was as if the archway didn't just lead to a hidden magical street, but a whole new world.

After giving Harry a second to gather his bearings, Sirius gently tugged the little boy through. Harry's eyes darted left and right, as did Sirius's. One taking in all the sights for the first time, the other reliving them.

Sirius could practically see a younger version of himself running around with James. It was as though he were watching a movie. The only things that hindered the visions were the presence of a few new shops.

The stores had changed since the last time Sirius had been there, but not the principal of the alleyway. It was the people that had changed the most. No more quickly going about your business, fearing the person ahead of you or to your side. These people here weren't death eaters. That time of fear was long passed, and the street had returned to how it was in Sirius's childhood. A place where people met up, children running along the pathways and couples strolling hand in hand. It was a happy world again, and Sirius felt a pang in his heart knowing that he didn't belong anymore.

"Si-Daddy, does it always look like this? Are there al'ays _so many_ people?" Harry asked, only momentarily slipping. His voice dripped with the awe that the street was inspiring in him.

Sirius looked down at Harry. The little boy's now brown eyes were wide with childlike admiration for this place. The world that he'd been born into, but had been taken from. "Always, Evan."

Harry didn't hear him though, he was too busy taking in all the sights. The amount of people around him was slightly uncomfortable, but the feeling of Sirius's hand in his was enough. The sights of shops with owls in the windows and robes being displayed were the objects of his attention right now. He let Sirius lead them down the street, never taking his eyes of the witches haggling over dragon's liver prices.

The first order of business was Gringotts. Sirius needed to make a withdrawal, and had the key to do it. Luckily, goblins didn't much care who you were or where you were taking money from – so long as you had the key. They did not answer to the Ministry of Magic, and would therefore not mention to them that some man and his son had come to take money from the Black family vault. Sirius was the sole heir to the Black fortune – and he did mean fortune – and was also the only one with a key.

The pair reached their destination relatively quickly. Sirius pulled Harry past before he could read the warning on the building, as it would no doubt frighten him a bit. Whatever protests Harry had from not getting a proper look at the building died in his mouth at the sight of the inside.

Harry's mouth dropped open as he observed the inside of the bank. Goblins, creatures that he'd only heard about, were running around. Some where leading people through the bank, others were counting out gold on massive scales. There was even a group of goblins inspecting massive diamonds, emeralds and rubies. "Are we supposed to be here, Daddy?"

The wonder in Harry's voice caused Sirius to break out into a wide grin. "Yes, we are. We have to get some money out of my vault." Sirius whispered on Harry's level. "Remember, don't say anything about the Blacks being related to me, all right Evan?"

Nodding seriously, Harry made a motion of pulling a key across his lips. Sirius ruffled his blonde hair and took his hand again. He pulled Harry towards the nearest open counter, where another goblin was writing something in a large book. "Excuse me."

"Yes?" The goblin hissed a bit, leaning out over his book to get a good look at Harry and Sirius. The intimidation worked on Harry, and he shrank back just a bit into Sirius's robes.

Sirius himself, however, was undaunted. "We'd like to make a withdrawal, please." He said as politely as he could to something that was scaring his godson. For good measure he let a bit of the Azkaban darkness, which really never left someone's eyes, flash. The goblin nodded, and pulled back.

"Which vault?" The goblin spoke to only Sirius now.

"The Black Family vault." Sirius replied dutifully. Harry gripped his godfather's hand tightly, expecting the goblin to narrow his eyes in suspicion and race off to find aurors.

Instead, the goblin did not change expressions. "Key?"

Fishing the item in question out of his pocket, Sirius laid it down onto the counter without a word. The goblin picked it up to inspect it and after a few seconds nodded. "I'm Griphook, I'll be taking you down to the vault now."

The Goblin – who Harry now knew to be Griphook – walked around the counter and waved his hand impatiently for Sirius and Harry to follow, which they did. Harry gave a tug on Sirius's robes to indicate that he wanted to be picked up. Sirius made no qualms about it and picked Harry up. Once safe in his godfather's arms, Harry leaned over. "Why isn't he mentioning about the only Black bein' a escaped person?"

"The goblins don't care as long as you have a key." Sirius replied equally as quiet.

Still a little worried, Harry tried to look calm. The odd group made their way to a cart, where Griphook set down a lantern that Harry hadn't seen him grab. "Get in, please." He instructed.

Sirius sat them down with Harry firmly in his lap. Harry brightened a little bit, a ride in a cart to a vault with money in it sounded exciting enough. The cart started and Griphook didn't appear to be steering. This worried Harry, but Griphook and Sirius didn't seem to mind.

The cold air whizzed past them as they went deeper and deeper into the bank's underground. Harry tried to take in all the sights he could, but things were moving too fast. After around five minutes – though it felt to Harry like only one moment – the cart stopped.

Griphook took the lantern and got out. "Key, please."

Sirius handed over the key and Griphook turned it in a small keyhole. A series of locks and gears turned. The door melted once the last gear had turned. Behind it stood another door. This door had only an indentation on it, no complicated keys or gears were on it. The indentation was in the shape of a large B. Griphook slid his long index finger along the B of the door. Then, turning to Sirius, he nodded.

Sirius let go of Harry's hand and walked to the door. Kneeling slightly, so he would be level with the door, he traced his own finger along the letter.

Within a second of Sirius completing the last turn of the initial, the door swung open. Harry eagerly looked forward. He'd never been in a bank vault before, and for one to have so many rules about it, there had to be something good inside.

It was empty.

Seeing the look of disappointment on Harry's face, Sirius nodded to Griphook and pulled Harry inside. Once the door was safely closed, Sirius kneeled down again by Harry. "This is just like a hallway kind of. There are two doors, see?" Sirius pointed to each.

Harry nodded, and watched as Sirius pointed to the door on the left. "This door has the money in it, among a few other things." Then he pointed to the door on the right. "That door has other things. Some of the things in that room, Harry, are dark magic. Evil things that could hurt you. You need to swear to me right now that you will never go in that room without me. Not until I say you're old enough. There are things in there that I don't want you playing with, things that no one should play with."

"I swear." Harry replied solemnly. He wondered what could be so dangerous that Sirius would make him promise to never go inside.

Sirius didn't give him much of a chance to speculate, though. He picked up his godson and opened the door on the left, knowing that it would hold the boys interest.

He was right.

"Oh." Harry breathed, his mouth hanging open yet again. The room was so big that Harry wasn't sure he could see the end from where he was. The ceilings were high and vaulted, and almost packed to the top with towers of galleons. Smaller piles, but still taller than Harry, of knuts and snickles interspersed the gold. Little jewelry boxes lined a short section of the wall that the door was located on.

Sirius closed the door behind them and set Harry down on the floor. The immediate area around the door being the only place where there was any floor visible. Harry had a vision of Sirius having to hike over gold to get to the back of the room.

"The Blacks are the richest wizarding family. The oldest is the Potters. We come in second for oldest and the Potter family comes in second for richest. I think that the Dumbledores are the third oldest. Then the Ravenclaws. The Hufflepuffs died out a while ago – don't know about the Slytherin or the Gryffindor families. The Ravenclaws are followed by the Longbottoms, then the Crouches, the Weasleys and then the Malfoys." Sirius explained. The names held some meaning to Harry, but some of them not so much. "After the Potters the third richest family is the Dumbledores again, I think. The Crouches are up there, as are the Longbottoms. Ravenclaws beat out the Malfoys, and the Bones family."

Harry wasn't quite sure what all that meant, or what significance it had. How Sirius could remember things like that was beyond him. As if sensing the confusion coming from Harry, Sirius added, "My mum made me learn all that."

Deciding not to comment, Harry just watched as Sirius piled some gold into a bag.

------------------------------Outside Gringotts

"All right, baby, what do you want to do first?" Sirius asked with a grin, then throwing his arms out wide. Harry giggled at the theatrics.

"Could we go to the joke shop?" he asked shyly, a little overcome by the sheer size of the place.

Sirius, however, was not paying attention to Harry's shyness. He was too busy pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that!" he sniffed.

Harry giggled, "Daddy! Stop that!"

Sobering up, but still grinning, Sirius righted himself and grabbed Harry's hand. "Come, my dear Marauder!"

They navigated their way through the twists and turns made by the people. Harry once again tried to take in everything he saw, but found it too hard. Instead he caught names of stores. The Owl Emporium looked fun, as did the Quidditch supply store. That one was what they would do next. Somehow, Harry wasn't really concerned that Sirius would want to go.

"Ahh, here we go. One of the greatest places on earth, a testament to all that is good and pure in the world. A prankster's paradise. Zonko's." Sirius said with a flourish. Harry looked up at the building.

"So _that's_ where you 'n Da-Uncle James got all your prank-y stuff?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer. He beamed at the excited expression on Sirius's face, and knew instantly just how much Sirius had missed the wizarding world. He'd never let on, but he did.

Nodding, Sirius held the door open for Harry. "Yep, that's right."

The sheer amount of things and pranking paraphernalia that lined the walls and tables in the room was mind-boggling. Sirius dove right in, inspecting both time honored favorites and items that had been created recently.

Harry slowly made his way down the shelves, determined not to miss a thing. Products like hair color changing shampoo appeared to be well loved. Other's, such as quills that wrote out insults, but couldn't be seen by the writer – thereby creating a big problem when the unfortunate writer handed in the work – seemed to be for the more daring and weren't as under stocked.

"Evan?" Sirius called from another part of the room.

"Yeah, Daddy?" Harry called back, as they were the only two people in the room. Besides, the owner appeared amused.

Sirius yelled back gleefully. "Pick out whatever you want, and quite a lot of it. Bring your stuff up to the counter and tell the man that I'll pay for the total. Take your stuff in a bag and don't show me. Then I'll go up. I expect creative pranks, young man."

The owner looked amused, surprised and quite pleased at the prospect of such a sale. Harry grinned happily and grabbed for a few items he'd seen.

------------------------------Forty-Five Minutes Later

Harry and Sirius practically dragged their bags from the store, leaving behind more empty spaces on the shelf than there were when they came in, not to mention a ecstatic owner.

Harry's bag was too heavy for him to lift, which was a good indicator to how much he'd purchased. His cheeks had practically burned with embarrassment when the cashier had read back to him how much Harry's personal total was. Sirius hadn't seemed to mind, which was all Harry really cared about.

He'd chosen many different items. The hair color changing shampoo had been selected. Along with a fake wand that would shoot slime out the opposite end when used, a powder to put on one's clothes to make a person itch, and nose lengthening cream that could be applied when the victim was sleeping. And that was just the first few things. Considering all the ideas Harry had, he was almost fearful of what an experienced prankster like Sirius had cooked up.

"Thirty nine galleons, Evan? Really, you've blown away my expectations." Sirius stated with pride. Sirius didn't seem to mind in the slightest that Harry had spent so much, but considering the amount of gold in his vault, it was to be expected. Sirius grabbed for Harry's bag and muttered word, shrinking the bag into a pocket-sized pouch. Harry pocketed the little bag and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Daddy." He added. "Where're we going next?"

Sighing, Sirius took a long look around the streets. "Any ideas?" He asked, when nothing in the immediate area caught his eye.

"The Quidditch Supply store!" Harry yelled, causing the group of elderly witches next to them to turn and look. But once they saw the energetic little boy their disapproving looks melted away.

Seeing the impeding cheek pinching disaster, Sirius scooped Harry up and sent a handsome grin in the women's directions. "No more being cute or we won't get out of here alive."

"I can't help it!" Harry cried out indigently.

Conceding to Harry's point, Sirius nodded. "Well, I should have known that." He said, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. A group of twenty-something women smiled and made a breathy chorus of "Aww!"

"Hey, none a' that!" Harry whispered Sirius's ear as his godfather nearly changed courses. Sirius winked at the women and walked back towards the shop.

"And to think I was a ladies man." Sirius reminisced wistfully. "You've reformed me, brat." He added playfully as Harry rolled his eyes.

The two stopped in front of the store in question and stared in awe at the broom in the display. This time, it wasn't just Harry with his mouth down to his feet, Sirius's mouth was completely flapping in the breeze also.

The shopkeeper noted their amazed expressions at the broom. "That's the Nimbus Five-Hundred. Newest model they've come out with, fastest too."

"It's beautiful." Sirius said, as though he were looking at the meaning of life. Which, for Harry, it seemed to be. He'd never ridden a broom before, just a toy that didn't allow him above five-feet. But looking at this broom, he desperately wanted to.

Laughing, the shopkeeper appeared to have heard this before. "Yes, she is." Continuing on, he listed statistics that made Sirius and Harry want to cry. Once he finished up, Sirius had the strength to look away.

"We'll take two."

------------------------------Elsewhere in Diagon Alley

He hardly ever came to Diagon Alley. He didn't need much, and the memories were almost unbearable a lot of the time. Besides, he wasn't exactly what one would call rich.

The wind blew into his face, causing his hair to blow into his eyes. Only a strong wind could cause such a reaction though, as he didn't wear his hair long. He impatiently pushed it aside as he made his way to the apothecary. His potion supplies really did need replenishing.

Taking a deep breath of the afternoon air, he continued towards the shop. The wind was blowing all sorts of scents in his face, but only the ones closest to him were really discernable. Of course, his sense of smell wasn't something he minded at all.

For Remus Lupin, the impeccable sense of smell was actually a silver lining to the fact that he was a werewolf.

* * *

_Okay, first order of business. Yes, I am aware that Zonko's is not in Diagon Alley. It's Gangole and Japes, but the thing is, I can't exactly remember the first name of that or the spelling of either. So I thought I'd use Zonko's instead, so I hope you all don't mind. _

_I went through the last chapter's reviews and found some recurring questions, so I'll answer those now, okay?_

_**Why can't Peter just go to the Weasley's?**_

_AU, guys. Things will happen with time. Peter hasn't had the opportunity yet. Maybe, eventually he'll end up there, but I'm not telling. That would be addressed towards the way end of the story. So you'll have to wait!_

_**Is Remus going to find Harry?**_

_All right, I really can't answer that. I know that a lot of you really want Remus and Sirius to raise Harry. I know that, you've all done a good job of telling me. You'll all, again, find that out later. But no, Remus isn't going to be hiring anyone to find him, which I can tell you. _

_**Is it a good thing that the search has been called off?**_

_Yes. _

_**Have you read Order of the Phoenix, 'Cause Arabella is a squib. **_

_Yes, I have read the cursed book. And yes, I know that Arabella is said to be a squib there, but I'm doing this my way. In my world, she's not. I hope no one minds that it's not exactly correct a-la cannon. It's small enough that I didn't really think anyone would mind, especially since I've seen all sorts of stories that have different takes on Arabella._

_**How could Remus not know that it wasn't Sirius!?**_

_People, you can't yell at me for following that particular cannon part! In the books, Remus did believe that it was Sirius, for thirteen years! I can't help that. All your points are valid, and I know that. Follow the flow, guys, that's all I can say._

_**Does Harry age again soon?**_

_Nope._

_**When is Harry going to Hogwarts?**_

_Based on the last question, he's not. This story does not go to Hogwarts age. In sequels (should there be any) he may, but this story does not go that far. I'm really sorry to everyone who wants him to! I've noticed that people have mentioned that for a while now, so I thought it needed to be cleared up. Again, really sorry!_

_**When is Harry going to Muggle School? **_

_He's not. We're just going to assume that Sirius and the house elves teach him. _

_**When are we getting some action!? You're going too far into fluffyness!**_

_I agree completely! Next chapter, everyone, action will be there. I'm sure that you can imagine... _

_Okay, there, I think that was it. Other than the normal things where you all ask what happens next. If I missed your question, then give it another go. If I still don't respond, chances are that it's nothing that I can really explain out and all that can answer it is time. I'll try my best though! And I hope that helped. Excuse the long author's note. _

_**Stars Enchantress**_


	14. Discovered

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_Discovered_

* * *

_Hello guys. Thanks so much to all of the reviewers! You guys basically guessed this chapter head on, with the exception of a few minor details. But hey, we'll get to that soon!_

_-------------------------------Diagon Alley_

Harry licked the ice cream away from his fingers. Even though he hadn't gotten a cone, the ice cream still seemed to find a way to get all over him. Sirius, from the other side of the table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, laughed at the child's messy hands and face. He reached across the table and started to mop Harry's up.

"Stop it!" Harry said as he tired to wiggle away from his godfather's napkin.

Sirius knew when a battle was lost and sighed, slipping back into his seat. "Fine, sit there covered in ice cream for all I care."

The little boy just giggled, knowing Sirius didn't mean it, and went back to licking his fingers. "Where're we going next, Daddy?"

The word Daddy came easily enough for Harry, though Sirius couldn't quite get used to it. But either way, he answered. "We've been almost everywhere, I think. We can double back around though, make sure we haven't missed anything good."

Nodding his acceptance of this arrangement, Harry dug back into his chocolate ice cream. Between bites, he asked, "Are we going home soon?"

"Soon enough. We can't just sit here forever. Besides, I daresay we'll want to try a few things out." He added with a twinkle in his eyes.

The thought of his first real broom-ridding lesson sat in the forefront of Harry's mind. He grinned at the prospect of getting to go higher than the measly five feet of his toy broom. "Yep, broom!" he cried, making the group next to them turn and look on with a smile.

"Yes, broom lessons. The way you fly around on your toy, you should catch on soon enough." Sirius said with pride. Harry's broom skill had shown themselves early, and they were without a doubt inherited from James.

Sirius took a quick scan of the area, seeing no one that he recognized. Not that they would recognize him in return, as he was in disguise. But it still paid to look. The street was as busy as it was beforehand, and if anything, more people seemed to have arrived.

"I've never seen this many people." Harry said, seeing where Sirius's gaze was. He sounded both awe inspired and slightly afraid. Sirius sent him a reassuring grin from across the table.

But even Sirius was a little thrown back by the amount of people. He hadn't been near this many in a while. But still, even years later, he had the overwhelming urge to do what he and James had done so many times before. He could still hear their laughs as they ran around pranking and striking up conversation with the patrons of all the stores. They had a bit of a reputation for that type of thing.

A tugging at his robes pulled him from his stroll down memory lane. Harry was standing in front of him. "Daddy, I'm done, let's go!"

Rolling his eyes at the interruption, Sirius obeyed nonetheless. "Okay, let's go." He said, getting to his feet. The two set out again, leaving some gold on the table next to Harry's ice cream.

"You don't want to go into Flourish and Blotts? Do you?" Sirius asked, skeptically. He looked down to Harry, who was making a face that clearly suggested that he did not want to go into the bookstore. "Good. I'd hate to have to go in with you."

They continued down the street, the number of people ever increasing. "And we've got enough robes and such, not that we use them often mind you." Sirius commented, waiting for Harry to start up another spirited argument about his displeasure at having to wear both overalls and robes.

There was no indigent cry or halfhearted tug at straps from below him. Sirius looked down, only slightly concerned.

Slight concern, which doubled instantly. Harry was not next to him. He stopped, causing a witch to give him a nasty glare. "Evan!?" he called.

His eyes scanned the lower part of the street, desperate to see a small blonde head. But he saw nothing.

Harry was lost.

---------------------------

A fact, which was becoming blatantly clear to Harry. Some men had cut in front of him, and before Harry could even cry out for his godfather, he was lost in the shuffle of people.

"Daddy!" he called, but there wasn't a response. People were barely aware of his presence. And no one looked down to help him. His chest grew tighter as the panic grew more real.

He had never been lost before. Not even in his big house. Sirius was always there, and on the off chance he wasn't, Boo was. He could count on one had the times that he had been away from Sirius for more than an hour – sleep excluded. On top of that, his fear of all the people being around him was increasing now that he didn't have his godfather there with him.

In short, Harry was terrified.

"Daddy!" He tried again. This time a man looked down at the distraught little boy and pulled him aside. Harry fought valiantly against this though, "Let me go!"

The man kneeled down next to him. "Hello, are you lost?" he asked. He sounded nice enough, but he was not Sirius, and that was all that mattered.

Harry refused to speak for a second, and the man went on. "My name is Remus Lupin. What's yours?" he tried coaxing out of the little boy.

Remus Lupin? Harry's eyes went wider than he knew they could. Remus? As in Moony? As in Marauders? He didn't even know what to say. "Ahh...."

----------------------------------

Remus looked at the little boy in front of him. He didn't exactly look like anyone he'd met before, which didn't help in finding his parents. It would have been helpful if he strongly favored a parent that Remus knew of.

He'd tired greeting the child and asking if he was lost, but the little boy hadn't answered. He looked absolutely terrified. Considering he was only five or six, it wasn't too surprising.

But there was something about the child, something so familiar. His scent was driving Remus crazy, but he couldn't place it. His mind was screaming at him that there was something important about this boy though. "My name is Remus Lupin. What's yours?" he asked, hoping to sound kindly.

The boy had an unexpected reaction. His eyes widened and he went pale. What was it about his name that would cause this?

"Ahh...."

There seemed to be no words for the child. So, Remus tried again. "Do you know me? Maybe your parents do?"

Still, the child said nothing. Sighing, Remus leaned in a bit more. "I won't hurt you, you know." He promised.

Nodding, the little boy acknowledged Remus's promise. "My...my name is Evan." He whispered quietly. He was almost drowned out by the street.

Evan, Remus wracked his mind for any spark of a child named Evan. But none of the people he knew to have children had a child of that name. The child – Evan – was looking at him as though he expected Remus to strike him or something. There was something extremely disconcerting with the way the child was watching him. That, coupled with the child's scent, was adding to up to something that Remus couldn't place.

"Well, Evan, who are you here with?" he asked, hopefully soothingly. If he knew the child's parents then he might figure out why he was feeling so strangely about Evan.

Again, the child hesitated. But after second, he responded. "My daddy." He whispered again. Remus really wished he'd speak up a bit, as it was very hard to hear past all of the people.

"Your daddy? Well, he must be quite worried." A look that Remus couldn't quite decipher flashed over the child's face. "What is your father's name?" he inquired.

At this the child seemed even more worried. But he answered anyway. "Orion."

Orion and his son Evan? Odd named people. Once again there was a nagging feeling inside of Remus telling him that there was something more important going on. "Orion what?" he asked.

"Jameson."

Evan Jameson. Orion Jameson. Remus could not place either name, nor could he place the last name. Jameson. He did not go to school with anyone in his year by that name. Male or Female. It was a possibility that the person was younger or older, but Remus still couldn't place the name. Jameson.

It clicked.

The scent, something that he hated to admit reminded him of James. But that was not James's scent, it was Harry's. The long buried memories of his friend's little son – his surrogate nephew – moved to the forefront of Remus's mind.

Jameson. James's son. Evan, Lily's maiden name of Evans. His mind swirled with the knowledge that this was Harry. This wasn't Evan Jameson, it was Harry Potter. A child that he'd taken for dead.

But he said he was there with his father, and this did not look like Harry. This child was blonde with brown eyes, not the infamous green of Lily and Harry. But a few glamours could change that easily.

The father's name rang in his head. Orion. That was Sirius's middle name. A name that he hated and told few. The simplicity of the names, the _obviousness_ of them would have escaped someone who did not know Sirius Black's mind. But Remus did know it, and he had figured it out. He was probably the only one who could have. Sirius might have turned out to be a murderer, but he was always smart and Remus knew it.

The look on his face must have told his thoughts, because Evan – _Harry_ – backed away slowly. "No! Harry, I know it's you. It is, isn't it?" he pleaded, holding onto the child's hand.

Harry had a look of horror in his eyes. "Let me go!" he spoke louder than before, but now compared to the whisper he was only speaking quietly. He pulled his arm from Remus's grasp, but Remus managed to get a hold again. He couldn't let Harry get away again.

"Listen to me, Harry. I won't hurt you, I promise." He said, looking in the child's eyes. "We'll go to Hogwarts, we'll see Dumbledore. Don't worry." He promised.

But Harry shook his head madly. Why wouldn't he want to get away from Sirius? Unless Sirius had told him lies about what happened to his parents. Remus's heart clenched. But he couldn't let Harry stay with that traitor. He had to get him away.

Once again, Harry yanked himself free of Remus. But this time Remus could not get him back. Harry started running, and Remus followed. "Harry!"

----------------------------------

Sirius was frantic. He had to find Harry. His mind was berating him for not holding his godson's hand, or better yet, picking him up. There were so many people, and Harry was so small. It wasn't surprising at all that he could get lost in the shuffle of things.

"Evan!" he yelled, wishing he could call out his godson's real name. If Harry was panicked then he would not be listening for a name that was not his own. How could their day of fun go so wrong, so quickly?

He continued running through the throngs of people that crowded the alley. A few had offered help, but he had declined. He no longer trusted this place. He and Harry needed to get out of there.

A little blonde boy ran through the crowd and Sirius knew it was Harry. "Evan! Wait!" he shouted again, but Harry did not hear him. He ran after the boy, who was running towards a side alley. Smart thing too, or else they'd have a hard time finding each other. Harry disappeared down the alley, as did Sirius.

Sirius gasped outright when he saw Harry sitting curled up in the corner of a doorway and the wall. "Evan?" he whispered.

Harry sat up and immediately started to run again. "No, leave me alone!" he screamed. Sirius grabbed him and pulled him back down. He pulled out his wand and ended the glamours. To hell with the consequences.

He turned Harry around so that he was in front of him. "Harry! Look at me, it's me, it's Sirius. All right? It's okay! You're safe now!" He said as he pulled Harry to him, holding him close.

Looking up at Sirius with tear filled eyes, Harry finally realized that he was in his godfather's arms. "Sirius!" he cried, wrapping his arms around his godfather. His sobs came out harshly, making him shake with the force of them.

But Sirius didn't mind, he just held onto Harry tighter. One had rubbed his back while the other kept Harry close to him. "It's all right, baby, you're okay. I'm here." He whispered, feeling his own eyes tear up a bit. He'd been so close to losing Harry forever. And that was the thought that scared him more than Azkaban, dementors or even death.

Gradually, Harry's sobs subsided. He pulled his head back from its resting place on Sirius's shirt. "Can we go home now?" he asked, hiccupping slightly.

Sirius smiled sadly at Harry, "Of course, Emeralds, we'll go." He promised. He picked himself up off the ground and held onto Harry.

The child's attention was caught on something other than the impending apparation. "Siri, look." He said, his voice still hoarse from his crying. He pointed to the ground below them.

Setting the child down, Sirius bent with him to inspect the two necklaces on the ground. Harry slowly picked one up. "Wow." He breathed.

The necklaces had a chain, each with an identical pendant on it. One side was a dog and the other side was a lion. Around each of the images was a thin line of symbols. They appeared to be made of silver, but almost had a gold glittery tinge to them. "They're nice." Sirius commented.

He grabbed the other one and they both felt a little tremor run through the metal. Sirius's mouth opened in wonder.

"Let's keep them, Padfoot." Harry said. Sirius found himself nodding and slipped it over his neck, as did Harry.

They were so wrapped up in their finds that they didn't see Remus coming down the alley. But Sirius did see him, though it was too late to run. "Remus." He whispered.

"Let him go, Sirius!" Remus yelled. He held out his wand in front of him, pointed squarely at Sirius's heart.

Sirius pulled Harry behind him, though he was unable to do anything else for the scared boy. "Hello, Moony." He greeted calmly. He took a appraising look at his friend. Remus looked the same, only sadder. He supposed that made sense, he was alone. At least Sirius had Harry, but Remus had no one.

"Don't call me that!" Remus spat. "That is something only friends can call me. And you killed those friends." He said with venom. The words hurt, both because it was Remus saying them and because James was still gone.

From behind him, Harry looked outraged. "NO! He didn't you're a stupid liar!" he yelled, in both a childlike way, but with an adults conviction.

Remus seemed a bit taken aback. Sirius had been lying to Harry. Somehow, Remus had always known that it would not be an auror to see Sirius and Harry again. It would be him. "Let Harry go, Sirius." He repeated. This time, however, he yelled, adding "Now!"

"And let Dumbledore send him back to the Dursleys? They were starving him. I won't do that, Remus." Sirius calmly told him, though the hard edge that came in his voice was directed at the Dursley's not Harry or Remus.

"What do you care what happens to him?!" Remus asked, eyes narrowed. The wand, however, did not drop or even lower slightly.

Sirius decided it was his turn to yell. "Because he's my godson! I love him and I don't plan on letting him be raised by those damn muggles!"

The wand did not waver. "You don't love him. If you loved him you would have let him grow up with his parents." Remus replied. The retorts were bound in his mind, he had thought them over, mulled over every aspect. He had the time, it wasn't as if he went out.

"That was the plan, you fool. Gods, Moony!" Sirius hissed, shaking his head in anger. Below him, Harry latched onto his hand. Whether it was because he was afraid or he was trying to make Sirius feel better, he did not know. "We were trying to make that work. Of course, having Peter be the traitor really didn't fit into the plan much."

Remus's teeth clenched in his mouth. "How dare you..."

"How dare I!? I'm the only one who can. I got sent to Azkaban for that little rat's crimes!" Sirius yelled. "We really should have known, shouldn't we? A rat." He added, as almost an afterthought.

Sirius realized that this was doing no one any good. They didn't have time for anything else though. Remus stared at him, more emotions that Sirius could place were flashing over his face.

"There's no way that he could have..." Remus started but trailed off into silence.

"The biggest bit was a finger, Remmy." Sirius reminded sadly. "Anyone could cut off a finger, but not every one could transform into a rat and speed away in a sewer."

Remus's eyes locked into Sirius. His wand lowered. "No..."

"Hey! That's Sirius Black! Call an auror!"

Sirius's eyes tore from Remus's towards the panic that was erupting down the end of the alley. He looked back towards Remus and smiled sadly as he picked up Harry.

They disapparated, leaving Remus standing in the alley alone.

* * *

_All right, I'm so torn right now, it's not even funny. The original plan is that Remus does not believe them. But...darn...I could also easily write it another way. I'm sure you're all guessing which way I mean. Ugh, I hate choosing stuff like this._

_Let me know what you guys think on this. Though, I'm sure I can guess._

_Please, REVIEW!!_

**_Stars Enchantress_**


	15. Two Friends, Two Worlds

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Two Friends, Two Worlds

* * *

_Hello everyone. Thanks so much to all of the reviewers. Okay, I admit it, I've gone past my self-imposed two week limit. This chapter has given me a lot of problems. I couldn't decide what to do. I've decided now, though I know that some of you aren't really getting what you want (for now at least)._

_I'm going to go with what my outline has in it. And one of these days, when this story is over and if there is an interest, I will write the flip side of what happens. _

_---------------------------Emerald's Palace_

Sirius lay out next to Harry on the boy's bed. For the first time in his godson's life he was afraid to let Sirius leave him while he went to bed. There had been times, many in fact, where Harry had simply wanted to spend the night in his godfather's room, but it had never been out of fear.

It had nearly broken Sirius's heart when Harry shot out a small hand to latch onto Sirius's own. Harry hadn't actually asked for Sirius to stay with him, but his frightened, pleading green eyes had asked enough for Sirius to understand.

He hated that their trip had gone so wrong. It started out fine. Fun for Harry and liberating for Sirius. They were as normal as they could get for all of a few hours. The pranking store to the quidditch supply shop had been thrilling for them both.

But the moment that he'd looked down and seen that Harry was nowhere to _be_ seen, all the fun had ended. Fear had gripped him, making breathing almost painful. And he couldn't even imagine how Harry had felt.

Sirius was still unsure if it had been good or bad that Remus had found him. On the one hand, _it was Remus_. Moony. He wouldn't hurt Harry. And Sirius knew that Remus felt that he was only trying to protect Harry, no matter how misguided that notion was. The whole Azkaban thing aside, Remus was one of the genuinely best people that he'd ever met. Sirius himself was far from perfect, he wasn't even close. Many would have said that Sirius was rash, loud, slightly cruel and oblivious to what was really going on. But Remus was the complete opposite. The cruelty shown to him hadn't turned Remus over to the Dark Side. He thought carefully before leaping into situations – something that Sirius had never really learned. If anything were to ever happen to him, there was a letter in Boo's safekeeping to be sent to Remus – along with Harry. He'd made that choice a long time ago.

But then, on that other more hateful hand, it was Remus. Remus, the man who'd allowed the Dementors to take him away. Remus, who didn't believe in him. Remus, who hadn't even come to listen to his side of things.

And, most importantly, Remus, who had allowed Dumbledore to send Harry to a place he knew to be horrible.

He could admit that he was being a little irrational. After all, he'd planted the seed of doubt in James's mind regarding Remus. A fact that he wasn't proud of and would love the chance to apologize for. But Remus had been kept out of the loop, even though he and James had hated themselves for suspecting him. Remus's lack of faith in him hadn't merely kept Sirius from knowing something. It had sentenced him to Azkaban. And he hadn't even come to find out the truth. A fact that Sirius could state he would do with conviction. Azkaban wasn't someplace to ship someone off to unless they were damn sure.

Of course, that could also be what he was still a little bitter about. That Remus could have been absolutely sure of his guilt. Even Sirius hadn't been entirely convinced that Remus was the traitor. There had always been that loyal voice in the back of his head reminding him that it was Remus, good old Moony.

Sirius sighed, tightening his hold on Harry unconsciously.

He wished he could say that he was entertaining the thought of going to Remus to finish their conversation. But he knew he wouldn't. He knew he wasn't even thinking of it.

Because, when it all came down to it, the only thing that really mattered was Harry.

----------------------------_Remus's Cottage_

The fire's heat warmed him up, though not nearly enough to stop the chill that was inside of him. Remus sat in his armchair, the only armchair in his worn cottage, and stared at the fire. Though, he didn't really see it. Instead he saw past it.

He saw Harry, the little boy that he had grown into. Still, he looked so much like James it was almost scary. What was worse though, what tore at him, was that during much of their encounter, Harry seemed afraid of him.

And that was Sirius's fault, Remus knew that. His friend, former friend, looked unchanged, almost no different. With a noticeable exception.

His eyes, the carefree silvery-blue, were so much older.

It was as though he'd seen just a bit too much to be quite the way he was, but not enough to smash the joking person he was. Azkaban could do that, Remus realized. But it seemed to be more. Something else, and Remus didn't find that he could place it.

Of course, it could have been from service to Voldemort, being a Death Eater.

Remus shook his head, tilting it upwards and closing his eyes. What would James say if he could see them now? He didn't want to figure it out, or even imagine.

"Remus."

The werewolf's ears perked up and he dropped his head back down. Albus Dumbledore's head floated in his fireplace, in the same spot he'd been staring at before. The man looked grim, and Remus knew why. Even after Sirius had apparated himself and Harry away, they were still left with the aftermath. The man had seen Sirius, though he hadn't noticed Harry. The damage was done, however.

Tiredly, Remus got up and knelt in front of the fireplace. "Hello, Albus." He greeted wearily, and then he asked a worthless question, "Did they find anything?"

"No, but an investigation has been launched, they are still questioning the store keepers to see if anyone matching the description that you gave had come in." Dumbledore told him, his eyes concerned. And Remus wasn't sure if it was for him, or for the situation at hand.

Nodding, Remus ignored the nagging voice in his mind that would say how much of a dead-end it would lead to. "That's good." He answered noncommittally.

"Remus, what is the matter?" Dumbledore asked, narrowing his blue eyes. Apparently, some of that concern was for him too.

A sigh escaped his lips, sounding as confused and dejected as he felt. "Just…some things Sirius said." He mumbled, feeling almost foolish that it was causing him so much of a problem.

Dumbledore caught it. He always did. "And what were those things?" He asked evenly.

Holding back would do no one any good, and Remus knew that. "He said he didn't do it. He said Peter did." Remus paused, "He says Peter is still alive." He whispered, pain for his long dead friend coating every syllable of the words, lacing his eyes. He missed James and Peter with everything in him. And a part of him, that teenage boy who was stunned by the loyalty of his three best friends, that part missed Sirius just as much as James and Peter.

"He did?" Dumbledore prodded, keeping his voice level and betraying nothing.

"Could he be telling the truth? He said it so…like he was really innocent." Remus mused, almost hopeful. "He sounded regretful too, and Harry. Harry clung to him, wouldn't let him go. And Sirius stood in front of him as though I were the threat."

Dumbledore looked pensive, even as his face danced in the flames. "You cannot let these things get to you, Remus. This is what Sirius wants." He said at length.

Remus's hopes crushed themselves as reality came down on him. Sirius Black was not innocent, though he was a good actor. A very good one. How could he let himself get lulled in like that.

He knew why, he wanted it to be true. But it was not, and his mind knew that. Even though his heart did not want to believe it. Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Though, unlike when he'd first heard the news of Sirius's betrayal, a little part of him would never quite believe his guilt.

---------------------------------Diagon Alley

The rats sped down the tunnels, all oblivious to the frantic people above the ground. They didn't care why there were so many people swarming around. They didn't care that the people above were aurors. And they certainly didn't care that those aurors were looking for traces of Sirius Black.

All those rats didn't care, but one did.

Peter sat near a grate in the sidewalk, listening. In rat form he had such good hearing. He could hear the vibrations of feet, the dripping of water, and the voices of men six feet above him.

"I can't believe Black choose here of all places to turn up!" One exclaimed to the other, a man that Peter vaguely recognized as one of the aurors James once knew.

Peter had been listening in, waiting for the false alarm to be called. But he'd waited for hours, and it appeared that this was the real deal. Sirius had shown up, and he'd had Harry there too. This only meant bad things for Peter.

"Black always was crazy. But to flaunt that he's got that little boy still? That's sick." The man responded to the first.

Sick was what Peter was feeling. Sick with worry.

"I hear you. We'd best get back to the Ministry though, Fudge will want to hear all of this. We can compare notes." The men disappeared, the vibrations of their feet ringing in Peter's small ears.

He knew where he had to go.

------------------------------Emerald's Palace

Sirius stared at the ceiling, sleep not coming to him. His mind still wandered, hardly focusing on one thought for long. He kept coming back to that look in Remus's eyes, that look of shock. Could Remus, after everything, believe in him again?

But more importantly, did Remus even believe him? Sirius's mind begged to know the answer, for his piece of mind. He'd already created fantasies about being declared free, able to renew his friendship with Remus and raise Harry in their world again.

He could not return without knowing though, and there was really only one way to know. He could be back before morning, before Harry ever knew that he was gone. Resolve formed and Sirius knew what he had to do.

Gently, he detangled himself from his godson. He'd get Boo to sit with Harry until he returned, he'd only be gone an hour at the most. It would be fine. There was a point that he and James used to apparate to when they worked as Aurors, it was hidden from view and Sirius doubted that anyone knew of it.

Just as he apparated, the very second, a small pair of hands grabbed his leg. "Siri, no!"

* * *

_Okay, nice cliffhanger, right? Excuse that. And I promise the wait won't be half as long as it was between this chapter and the last. Special thanks to GNatgirl for getting my ass in gear. _

_**Stars Enchantress**_


	16. Auror

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Auror

_

* * *

Hello everyone. Thanks so much for all of the reviews! See, not half as long a wait as last time. The fact that I have a snow day definitely helps though._

_-------------------------------Emerald's Palace_

_Sirius stared at the ceiling, sleep not coming to him. His mind still wandered, hardly focusing on one thought for long. He kept coming back to that look in Remus's eyes, that look of shock. Could Remus, after everything, believe in him again?_

_But more importantly, did Remus even believe him? Sirius's mind begged to know the answer, for his piece of mind. He'd already created fantasies about being declared free, able to renew his friendship with Remus and raise Harry in their world again. _

_He could not return without knowing though, and there was really only one way to know. He could be back before morning, before Harry ever knew that he was gone. Resolve formed and Sirius knew what he had to do. _

_Gently, he detangled himself from his godson. He'd get Boo to sit with Harry until he returned, he'd only be gone an hour at the most. It would be fine. There was a point that he and James used to apparate to when they worked as Aurors, it was hidden from view and Sirius doubted that anyone knew of it. _

Just as he apparated, the very second, a small pair of hands grabbed his leg. "Siri, no!"

-------------------------------Outside the Auror Headquarters

Sirius felt the world lurch around him and then stop, much like the standard feeling of apparation. This time, however, he'd had a companion. Sirius didn't even wait for the world to right itself before he knelt down to his godson. "Harry! Are you alright?" he asked, somewhat frantically.

The little boy looked a bit stunned. "I didn't want you to go." Harry mumbled in a daze. Apparation was a shock to anyone's system if they didn't know now how to do it themselves.

"I know, baby, but I had to. Are you okay?" Sirius asked, running his hands down Harry's arms and sides to check for an injury that he knew wouldn't be there.

Harry nodded, coming back into himself a bit more. It wasn't everyday he was suddenly apparated out of his bedroom after all. He pushed his godfather's hands away from him and asked, "Where are we? Why did you have to come here?"

Sighing, Sirius stood up. He picked Harry up and set him on a rock to sit on, and then hopped up onto it himself. "This is an apparation point your father and I used to come to after work. We're almost at the Auror Headquarters." He explained. Harry seemed about ready to repeat his second question when Sirius answered it without prompting. "I wanted to see what the aurors and Dumbledore were doing about Remus seeing us. If they believed what I said or not."

"If Remus believed you or not." Harry translated easily. He really did know his godfather quite well. He turned to look intently at Sirius, looking older than he actually was. "Okay," He said finally, "We'll go check."

Sirius shook his head, "Too risky for you, Emeralds, I'll apparate you back." He said, jumping down from the rock.

"NO!" Harry shouted, pushing back from Sirius and away from his open arms. "I want to see them. I want to see the aurors that are making you stay away!" He yelled, again seeming far older than he should have been.

"Harry, you can't come." Sirius stated firmly. He again tried to scoop the little boy up, but Harry pushed away further on the flat surface of the massive rock. "Harry." He tried again, but with no success.

The little boy had pushed himself as far back as he could, "I want to see them, Siri. Please, we'll only stay a bit." He promised.

Sirius looked towards where you could almost see the building the aurors met in, then back at Harry. "When I say we go, we go Harry."

Harry knew better to argue with that tone of voice coming from Sirius. He nodded, pleased he'd won. "Okay, Sirius." He crawled forward and allowed Sirius to pick him up and put him back on the ground. They walked forward slowly, creeping through the trees.

It was almost dead of night, so no one could even see through the blackness. And Sirius knew that the aurors had almost no protection against him. There were wards for dementors, wards for other creatures. And there were wards for people carrying the dark mark. Sirius did not fall into any category. He also knew that no one but aurors themselves knew of the location of the secret headquarters. Not even the Minister, not even Dumbledore. They were probably not thinking of the Sirius Black they knew before the deaths of Lily and James. They would forget that he'd know the location all along.

And as he stepped closer with Harry's small hand in his, he knew he was right. They crouched in the bushes by the window, listening in to the argument inside the room.

"Come on, Tonks, don't start up again." A man groaned. Sirius recognized the nickname instantly, it was his cousin Andromeda's daughter – Nymphadora. She was younger than him, but at this age she would have probably been in her first year of being an auror.

A woman's sigh reached his ears and then a chair scraping. Another man piped up. "You heard Dumbledore, Black and Harry Potter disappeared. But the real question is why would Black drag everything to light again? We'd just stopped the search. Why open it up again?"

"He wanted to prove that he could outsmart us?" Someone piped in.

Another responded, "To tell us he still has James's son?"

Sirius's teeth clenched, they made him out to sound like an overtly stupid and arrogant bad guy. The kind you saw in muggle comic books. It seemed that along with ignoring the fact that he'd left his family for their dark ways, and that James and Harry meant the world to him, they'd also decided to ignore his basic personality. He and James had been arrogant, but not that bad. That was Voldemort levels.

He'd been ignoring the conversation for quite a bit of time, but Harry tugged on his arm. He listened in again when Remus's name had been mentioned.

"Poor Lupin. Black came up with all this stuff to spew at him. That he was innocent and Peter Pettigrew had committed his crimes. What a load of bull." Someone snorted. Sirius held his breath. "Luckily Dumbledore talked him down, got all those doubts from his mind."

Harry watched as Sirius's eyes closed sadly.

-----------------------------Elsewhere in the Area Around the Headquarters

Peter ran as fast as he could, which was a pretty good pace. He covered land quickly, remembering all that James had told him for finding the headquarters of the aurors. He still remembered what James had said.

"Okay, Peter, you have to remember all this. If anything happens, anything at all, you have to run to them. Voldemort will be looking for Sirius, but since you're our secret keeper now you need to have someplace to run if he figures out the plan. If you can't get to Dumbledore, then go to the aurors. Paying attention, Wormtail?"

He had been paying attention, even though he hadn't looked like it. Useful information - that was what James had been talking about. Exactly how to get to the aurors in case of an emergency.

Of course, this was an emergency, but he wasn't going to talk to them. He was going to listen to them. He needed all the information they had on Sirius' location. All of it.

-----------------------------Outside the Headquarters

"When we find Black, I say we just kill him outright, none of this trial stuff. He obviously knows how to get out of his Azkaban cell." One of the huskier sounding men chimed from what had to be another part of the house-like building.

Harry felt like he'd just been hit. They couldn't hurt Sirius! He didn't do anything wrong. They were just being stupid and blind. He felt a rush of anger swell up in him, but he kept listening. Sirius had gone a little pale, but Harry couldn't tell in the dark. Sirius wanted to take Harry away from there, so he wouldn't hear more. But at the same time, Sirius himself wanted to know exactly what they had to say.

The man continued. "The Dementor's kiss even, but we can't wait. I hope that the Minister will just authorize it. Suck that bastard's soul right out, if he even has one."

There was a general noise of agreement through the room, though the woman – Tonks – had nothing to say.

At all of that, little Harry could take no more. He started softly crying, tears slowly streaming down his face, as he made no noise. Sirius sensed it though, just as Harry always knew when his godfather was upset or lost in memories. They had heard what they came to hear, that Remus did not believe in Sirius. There was no point in staying.

Sirius grabbed Harry's hand and led him away. The little boy went willingly, no longer wanting to hear these aurors who had no clue. They were wrong, Sirius wasn't bad or evil. Harry was hardly paying attention to where they were going, but the felt himself being picked up and seated on that rock again. Sirius leaned forward and held his godson.

It was all the reasons he'd kept Harry away from the wizarding world, all wrapped into one hour in time. People's mistrust of others, betrayals, dementors, refusing to accept others and their choices, so many things that were unpleasant. But at the same time, Sirius had been describing humanity. He could not keep Harry away from that, he couldn't shield him from every unpleasant thing in the world.

But having it harshly thrown in his face was quite another thing.

"Shh, Harry, what they say doesn't matter." Sirius told him, whispering in his hear as he smoothed the boy's long – unruly – hair from his face.

Harry pushed back just far enough so he could look at Sirius but stay in his arms. "That's not true!" He cried. "They can send you away, back to the bad place. They want to!"

"No, they can't Harry. They can't find us. They don't know where we are. They still don't, you heard them." Sirius pointed out as he smiled sadly at Harry. He hated seeing tears in the emerald eyes of his godson, but that was all his planned day of fun seemed to have achieved.

"You don't know that."

Sirius looked down like he'd been slapped. He knew that, of course, eventually, his word would no longer be all that Harry needed. Harry believed him with the childlike innocence that came from his worship of his godfather. And that was going to end. Sirius's word was not the be all end all of Harry's life. That was just a little bit of the innocence that Sirius had prayed to preserve, stripped away.

Thickly, Sirius nodded, "No, I don't. They could capture me one day. The next time we go out, maybe. But I know that they can't get us at home." Sirius said with finality.

"But…" Harry started, but Sirius laid a gentle hand across the protesting child's lips.

"Say it Harry, say exactly what I told you about our house." Sirius insisted. There was no one around, no one to hear them. All of the aurors were in the building, and no one ventured this far into the forest. They were safe.

And Harry seemed to believe that. So he started talking. "We live in a special house. No one can see it, and if they step foot on it's land then the castle will make their other foot land at the end of the property." Harry said, quoting Sirius word for word. "Emerald's Palace is known only to the ones we want it to be known to. No one else knows of it, we are safe."

"Perfect, baby." Sirius praised. He gathered the boy back up into his arms

-------------------------------In the Trees

Rats were not capable of smiling, but Peter was close to it. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but the moment Harry had started talking of their home, the information of it had slowly trickled into his mind. It really was the perfect hiding place.

Or, it had been the perfect hiding place.

* * *

_Dun-dun-dun. Not good, hu? Thanks again to reviewers, and I hope you all had a Merry Belated Christmas, along with all the other goodies of the season._

_**Luvguurl: **I've got to tell you, I had no idea how to respond to your review. I'd like to start off by telling you **ALL REVIEWERS ENCOURAGE ME TO UPDATE**. Not just one of you. The reason GNatgirl got that special thanks is because she gave me a really good idea about how to continue. The review helped a lot, and really got me going again. So I felt she deserved a special thanks. You're the only one that had a problem with it. Next, I'd like to say I've been writing a long time, and I have many other stories. I love reviews, but all authors do. They don't go to my head, as I'm pretty used to some sort of response. You also stated that I've changed, in a bad way. Tell me, how is it that you can come up with a statement like that? You don't know me. You get an authors note at the beginning and end of a chapter, but that IS NOT enough to base any ideas of me off of. I **do not** appreciate that you would claim I've changed, when you do not know me, let alone well enough to claim that my personality has been altered. As for the cuss I used, this is PG-13. If you check my bio, I state that there isn't anything too awful in my stories, just an occasional curse – which is the reason behind the rating, so I can swear when I want to. If you do not like this, then I would not read stories in a rating above PG. I'd like to point out, that I don't know about you, but I don't review stories to get special recognition. I do it to encourage the author. There are many reviewers who have been reviewing this since the start of the story. They haven't kicked up a fuss, they just take the thanks I give at the start of each chapter and continue reading. I'm sorry if you're upset with my response, but I was upset by your review, so we're even. And I'm sorry if you felt left out. I'm also sorry to all the people who got excited by the scroll bar, only to finish and see this whopper of a paragraph. But I really felt that I should respond._

**_Stars Enchantress_**


	17. Foresight

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_Foresight _

_

* * *

Thanks so much to all of the reviewers. I've got to start out by saying sorry for my mistake with Tonks. I wasn't quite sure of her age, and I just threw her in there for fun without checking. So, my mistake, my stupidity. Sorry about that. She's too young to have been there._

_Special thanks to **Alen** for my first flame ever! _

_-------------------------------Emerald's Palace_

_Harry ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had to get to Sirius. But he had no idea where his godfather was. All he knew was he had to get there, and he was frightened. Sirius would make that better though, he always did. All Harry had to do was find him. "Siri!" he screamed. _

_No one answered but his own voice echoing back at him. Where was he? He ran down deserted hallways, ignoring paintings and other doors. The house scared him. It was so old, and so hopelessly dark. "Sirius, please!" _

_There were no lights in the house, nothing to help him light his way. He kept expecting to trip on his face, but he didn't. The path ahead of him was clear, but he couldn't see, he didn't know the way out. _

_But Sirius did. _

_Where was he? Why didn't he come when Harry called for him? Sirius never did that, he never kept him waiting. But that would meant that Sirius wasn't there, and Harry was all alone. _

_Harry smacked straight into something. There wasn't a wall there, there couldn't be. Not after all that running, and he was so very tired. He looked up, a man stood there, blocking the rest of the hallway. There was light behind him, it looked almost blinding. _

"_There's no one left to get in the way." The man said. Harry didn't know him, but he looked so familiar. _

_There wasn't a way around the man, and Harry didn't want to get close. This was bad man, he would hurt Harry the first chance he got. "Sirius!" he screamed, for what felt like the thousandth time. This time, he got a response. _

"_Where are you, Harry?!" Sirius's voice rang out. But the man didn't hear it, he just kept staring at Harry. He didn't seem to notice it at all. But Harry heard it, he knew that it was real. It was still there, inside his mind. _

"_Sirius! I'm right here! Please!" _

_--------------------------------_

"Harry! Harry wake up, it's all right!" Sirius yelled, shaking his godson. Harry cracked his eyes open and looked up. Sirius looked like he was as terrified as Harry felt. "Shh, baby, it was only a nightmare."

Harry darted up in bed, wrapping his arms around his godfather's neck. "No, it wasn't! You weren't there, and it was dark…and you weren't there!" Harry finished lamely. He didn't cry, he almost felt beyond it. He wanted to though, he really did.

"Emeralds, it was a nightmare, nothing more. We talked about real life and make-believe." Sirius reminded him, hoping the memory of their talk would calm the child that was shivering in his arms. He'd been sitting in his own room when he'd heard Harry's frantic screams.

He had been afraid of this - that hearing all of the things that the aurors had said against him would have affected Harry more than just a good cry in the woods. But he hadn't quite expected a nightmare to the point that Harry was thrashing in bed and screaming for him. Harry had practically been begging for Sirius to come for him.

"This wasn't make-believe." Harry insisted. He didn't know why, but it just wasn't. He sniffed and buried his head in Sirius's shoulder once more.

Sighing, Sirius shifted them both so they were lying in Harry's bed. He wondered how often it would come to this. On top of that wondering, he was feeling guilty for taking Harry to Diagon Alley. He should have waited until the child was a bit older. Seven, or eight years old maybe. Even nine would work.

"Well, you had a long day. You should really go back to sleep, baby." Sirius said as he started rubbing circles on Harry's back. It was a treatment that usually sent Harry straight to sleep. This time Harry would not be calmed.

Stubbornly, the little boy pushed his head up from Sirius's chest and refused to lie down. "I don't wanna to go back to sleep, you'll go away again." He insisted.

There was nothing Sirius could do but stay the night to reassure Harry that he wasn't going anywhere. "What if I stay with you tonight?" He offered, pulling the protesting child back down. "I won't be going anywhere."

"No apparating?"

"None whatsoever." Sirius promised. He realized that he'd be spending the next few months even having to promise that he would not apparate away while Harry was sleeping. It had been foolish of him to not think of Harry's reaction first. But he had honestly meant for Harry to never know of his brief time away from their home.

For now, Harry seemed content to believe that particular promise. But if he broke it, there was no way of knowing if Harry would so readily accept it again. He had no intention of letting such a thing happen.

"Okay, but I still don't want to sleep. The man will come back." Harry replied, bottom lip making a brief appearance for a pout. Sirius couldn't believe that a nightmare had scared Harry so deeply.

But he knew exactly what to do. "Well then, I think I'll just have to keep us occupied with a story!" he exclaimed sneakily. Harry could not resist stories – especially those of the marauders. It would have to get his mind off of whatever he'd dreamed about. Sirius didn't even notice that Harry had claimed that a man was in his dreams, but even if he had, he'd have suspected the boogeyman.

"Tell me!" Harry cried, letting go of the fear the dream had caused just a tiny bit. "Marauders!"

Sirius laughed, more relieved than he could articulate that Harry was acting more like his normal self. It was rare that Harry had nightmares, but when he did, Sirius found the whole experience to be nerve racking. Especially since he so rarely needed to take care of a frightened child. "All right, Emeralds, what kind of story about the marauders do you want? A prank maybe? Moony, Padfoot and Prongs?"

"Mmm, a prank." Harry requested, knowing it would be funny.

It didn't take long to come up with a good story for Harry. There was quite the catalogue of events to choose from, as the marauders had never managed to go a week without a prank in all their seven years of school.

"Well, Harry, do you remember what the cease-fire treaty we made last year was about? I think it was number twelve." Sirius asked, waiting for the inevitable response. For such a young child, Harry did very well with memorization.

And sure enough, Harry dutifully replied. "There will be no pranks involving toilets in the location of Emerald's Palace unless a prank war's rules clearly state that both parties – Party A, Emeralds and Party B, Padfoot – wish to forgo the treaty for the time period agreed upon for aforementioned prank war."

"Good, baby, very good. Did I ever tell you why I insisted upon that particular treaty?" Sirius asked, knowing full and well that he hadn't ever told Harry about it. He'd known at the time that there were some stories he'd have to save for later emergencies. This counted.

Harry shook his head, just as Sirius knew he would. "Nope, you didn't." he answered, waiting patiently for Sirius to continue.

"All right, you see, I did that because of a particular prank your father, Moony and I did. Not only did it get us a rather unreasonable number of detentions, it also had the entire girl population of Hogwarts against us for almost a month." Sirius reminisced. After a second, he winced. "Your Mum included." He told Harry, remembering the whole scene with then Lily Evans quite well. His hearing was never quite the same after that.

Giggling, Harry could almost imagine what the marauders had done. Wild scenarios danced in his head. Sirius took the laughter as a good sign and continued. "You see, your dad and I had gotten a rather unfair detention of cleaning out the toilets of Hogwarts for an entire week."

"What did you do to get the detentions?" Harry asked. He was old enough to know that there was never anything that his father and Sirius had done it had been enough to warrant a detention.

"Well, that's rather besides the point…" Sirius started, but relented when he remembered the point of the whole thing. "We charmed McGonagalls's to, ah, _flirt_ with her when she sat on it."

This sent Harry into fresh peals of laughter, effectively letting the tension drain from his little body. Exactly what Sirius wanted. Continuing, Sirius started in on the real story. "But enough about that little escapade, okay? Back to the real story." He said, pulling the covers up over Harry and himself. "So, while we were scrubbing toilets, we started getting a bit, well, bitter. Your dad was really the one that started the ball rolling, as he said it would be easier if the toilets just rejected anyone who sat on them…"

Weak laughter followed, which quickly died down. Sirius kept talking, more than aware that a certain little boy's eyes were getting heavier and heavier with each word.

----------------------------_Outside Emerald's Palace_

The castle ahead of him looked as majestic as he'd imagined. The property around it was hardly something to sneeze at. It was so overwhelmingly _Potter_ to have such a place just lying around. Peter confidently stepped forward, and smiled when his foot landed on the solid ground.

_

* * *

One of these days I've got to write a side story of the day that Sirius and Harry wrote up those treaties and what exactly each one entails. It would be pretty fun._

_Please, don't hate me too much for that cliffhanger! _

_**Stars Enchantress**_


	18. Screams of the Child

**Harry Potter and the New Start:** _Screams of the Child_

_

* * *

Hello, everyone, thanks for the reviews that you sent in for the last chapter. I realize I left you all with a bit of a cliffhanger, hehe._

_A lot of the reviews stated that you guys were confused about how Peter could see the house. It is explained by Sirius's thoughts at the beginning of the story, but it might not have been that clear, so I'll try to do it again. _

_Basically, Emerald Palace's name is its…codeword almost. Only the heir to the Potter family can tell someone where it is by saying the name, at which point you'll know. So it wasn't like Sirius could have told anyone and had it be a risk, only Harry could because the house belongs to him now. When Sirius had Harry say that whole speech with Peter overhearing the Emerald's Palace part, because Harry had said it, he knew where to find it. I hope that clears up the questions._

_---------------------------------Emerald's Palace_

Harry cracked open a single eyelid, losing his grip on sleep in the process. He blinked a few times, getting used to the dark of his bedroom. Somehow, it had never seemed more scary. Fear wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to, but it was practically all he _could _feel at the moment.

Sirius's soft breathing was right next to him, and an arm was gently draped over him. Normally, Sirius's presence alone was all that was required to help him feel safe. But for some reason, it just wasn't enough.

Shadows danced on his walls, creating horrifying pictures of gnarled faces and wild animals. He and Sirius had talked a lot about monsters and make believe, so Harry knew it wasn't real. But he couldn't make himself tear his eyes away, lest they move towards him without him knowing. The formerly quiet house had new creaks and noises that hadn't been present the night before.

Even if they had been, it was last night that he was safe. Tonight he wasn't.

Harry didn't know why he was so afraid, he should be. He was home again, away from that crowded street full of strange people. He and Sirius weren't at that headquarter place anymore. No one was threatening Sirius, and no one was telling Harry that he needed to get away from his godfather.

They were okay, and he was supposed to be asleep. Sirius was, he was peacefully sleeping next to Harry. Obviously Sirius wasn't afraid of anything.

Harry only wished he could be the same way.

-------------------------------_Downstairs_

Peter crept silently in the dark. He could transform back into his animagus state, but walking on two legs again was too appealing to let go. He'd have to stay that when he got the kid anyway, because there was no way the son of James was just going to be kidnapped peacefully.

He was sweating and shaking with nerves. He was no match for Sirius, and Peter wasn't stupid enough to think otherwise. What he was hoping for was a big gap between their bedrooms, but he knew that Sirius would be right next door.

What he would have to do was make sure he kept Harry quiet. But again, that sounded easier said than done, considering his parentage and the one he'd been raised by.

They also needed a place that Sirius would never think to look for them. And luckily, Peter knew exactly what that place would be.

Sirius Black wouldn't find them in time.

-------------------------------_Harry's Room_

Harry had never been more tempted to wake Sirius up in his life. But they'd both had a bad day, and Sirius didn't need to be woken up for Harry's overactive imagination. He was a big boy, and big boys did not get scared of the dark.

He almost wished that he were a little boy again.

The creaks of the house only grew, and Harry was convinced a monster was coming up towards his room. It would be a big, ugly, green monster with three arms and seven claws on each hand. It would have tail with spikes, and horns on it's head. And it's eyes would be a dark red, and they'd flash when it got hungry.

Images of such a creature floated through his mind, becoming more and more fearsome as the seconds ticked by. What was a monster with horns on it's face soon had tusks dripping with blood added to it's green skin.

But there were no such things as monsters, Harry told himself repeatedly. Sirius said so. But had Sirius ever actually seen one? Maybe he just hadn't seen a monster before, and that was why he said that they didn't exist. And if Sirius only believed in what he could see, then of course he didn't believe in monsters. They could be real.

His mind worked a mile a minute as he reached his horrible conclusion that there might be a big green monster at his doorway. But Sirius had seemed so sure of what he'd promised about make believe…

He had to go downstairs and check.

---------------------------------_Downstairs_

Peter quietly opened and closed various doors, hoping to either see Harry, or at least figure out which floor they were on. He'd know that for the place to be called Emerald's Palace, that it had to have been pretty large, but not quite the almost Hogwarts sized castle that it had turned out to be.

He'd be searching forever, and he'd have to hide straight away at the first sign of light. He could snatch the boy away during the day, but there were too few opportunities in the light, and Sirius would no doubt be with the brat at all times.

From above him, he heard a small creaking noise. At once he ducked down behind a bookcase that afforded a little coverage. Sirius had heard him prowling around. Peter almost cursed himself for not being quiet enough.

He listened as the quiet – almost nonexistent – steps proved that they weren't on the floor above him, but down the hall. There seemed to be a corner in the direction that the sound was coming from, and it was most likely coming from around it.

The noise was almost imperceptibly becoming louder, but had he not had his animagus abilities – hearing being one of them – he would not have noticed. The steps were making such noise and Peter was surprised. Sirius, James and Remus had always had some innate ability to walk about undetected. Sirius couldn't have gotten that out of practice, could he?

Peter was left to contemplate this new question as the figure rounded the corner. He squinted his already narrowed eyes to make out the black on black outline of someone.

Someone who was far too short to be the tall Sirius Black.

This person was shorter than Peter had been during school, easily. He smiled nastily when he realized that the child had walked willingly into a trap.

-------------------------------

Harry had slipped out from under Sirius's arm with the utmost care. He didn't want to jostle his godfather into wakefulness. He had to face his fear by himself, because he was either going to find his monster, or find that there was no such thing.

He was praying for the latter.

The halls of his home had never seemed darker, but he knew his way perfectly. He knew the house almost better than the house elves did. And he definitely knew it better than Sirius. The house was almost like an alive extra occupant, and he knew that if he got lost he could find his way out.

That thought in mind, his steps became less tentative and more sure. He padded down the hallways as quietly as he could, working far enough away from his room and closer to around the area where he'd heard those noises. It seemed that it was almost right next to the front landing to the second floor – the same floor that had his bedroom on it. And if it wasn't there, then it might be in the next hallway over, depending upon how loud the noise had originally been. But Harry didn't think it would be that far away, because it was pretty quiet at first.

In his haste to face his fears, Harry didn't realize that the noises had stopped.

He also didn't notice the man crouching behind the bookcases that were lined up at the end of the hallway.

----------------------------

Beady eyes followed the child, who was growing more and more clear as he walked closer. Just as he had in the clearing by the ministry, Peter marveled at how similar the boy looked to James. They knew he would, with one look at the newborn's face at the hospital when he was born. But it was still unnerving to see.

The boy moved closer, oblivious to the danger. Peter slowly rose up from his hiding spot.

---------------------------_Harry's Room_

Silvery blue eyes snapped open, breathing harshly. What had woken him up? Sirius sat up in bed, listening to see if Harry had been calling for him. The boy's room was close enough that he could hear him when he called.

Sirius leaned over to the lamp at his bedside and frowned when his hand only hit air. His lamp had walked away? Clambering out of bed, Sirius walked up to the wall and flicked the light switch.

His room was scarlet, but this bedroom was deep blue.

The memories of his night rushed back to Sirius as he realized he was in his godson's bedroom. He'd had to sleep with Harry after the little boy had woken up with a nightmare. A nightmare caused by his foolish decision to rush off and go to the auror headquarters. He could see now that it hadn't been smart of him. But rational thinking was not his forte. Especially when he was upset.

But now, in present time, Harry was nowhere in sight. Sirius knew he wasn't in the bathroom, for he would have come out if he'd seen the lights come on. Where would a little boy have to go in the dead of the night? Sirius calmly started searching the room. But he'd only gotten as far as the closet when all semblances of calm fell to the wayside. The little boy was not in his room, and that much was clear.

He raced into the bathroom, just to be sure. "Harry…" he muttered. Sirius wracked his brain for a hiding space or a reason why Harry would have gotten up.

A scream – a child's cry – tore through the silence of the castle and effectively chased all thought from the animagus' mind.

Instinct took over and Sirius flew out the door. "Harry! Baby, where are you?" he yelled, repeating himself many times over. He ran through the halls, his feet barely touching the ground as yet again, he heard a scream.

"Shut up, brat!" A man's voice thundered, and as Sirius rounded the corner he knew exactly who it was.

Harry' reached his arms for his godfather just as the man's eyes grew dark with fury. "_Wormtail_." He hissed. Peter said nothing, but Sirius did. "You let him go, you bastard, you let Harry go right now."

Peter shook his head, and whipped out his wand with lightening speed. Sirius almost smiled, he could duel Peter. But that wasn't what the rat intended. With a quick muttering of hushed words, he cast his spell. Sirius watched the light fly above his head, missing him entirely. He almost taunted the man about it, but he was cut off when a panel from the ceiling fell down on his head.

"Sirius!" Harry screamed as he watched in horror as his godfather drop to his knees heavily. An expression of surprise and desperation flew over Sirius's face. He had to get up, but the stars in his field of vision swam dizzily and Sirius felt the floor rushing up to meet him.

He could see, through darkening vision, as Wormtail dragged the screaming child away. Harry reached for his godfather again and screamed even more.

"H-Harry…no…" he whispered, as they left his sight. Harry's screams morphed slowly into a ringing noise.

His last thoughts were of his precious godson.

_

* * *

You knew it was coming, don't say otherwise! **Wags finger at readers**_

_Sorry for the delay, I've been having some computer issues. I've been delaying letting my father get his hands on my computer, but it's only a matter of time. I can't be at home all the time to protect my beloved computer. _

_**Note to Return of the Father Readers** : You guys are next, don't worry. I'm halfway done with the next chapter! More than halfway maybe. _

_Okay, back to this story. Sorry for the awful cliffy, but I'm sure you'll all forgive me…eventually. Maybe. _

_Hopefully. _

_Let me know what you think!_

**_Stars Enchantress_**


	19. Unconcious Nightmares

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_Unconscious Nightmares_

_

* * *

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter, I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Er, well, perhaps "enjoyed" is too strong a word. Considering I practically – did I say practically? I meant actually – got death threats._

_As for that ever-present question of "Did you kill Sirius, you evil author?" well, read on. _

_-------------------------------Emerald's Palace -- Dream_

"_Sirius!" Screamed the little boy in front of him. There was nothing blocking him from Sirius, but the child just stood there, holding his arms out and screaming for the man. _

_He didn't know this little boy, did he? But the child seemed to know him. The boy seemed desperate for him. "I…I don't know you." Sirius whispered to the child. The boy's face crumbled, and Sirius had to fight the unexplainable urge to take back his words just to take that expression from his face._

"_Padfoot, please." The child tried again. "You do know me!" He insisted, looking scared and confused even more. _

_That didn't make sense, his mind yelled. He did not know who this boy was. He didn't have children, he would know if he did. This boy must be mistaken, his own father must have just looked like Sirius did. That was it. The boy was lost and he was looking for his father who looked like Sirius._

_But why would he know Sirius's name. The name was not common, and even if it was the nickname of Padfoot definitely was not. _

"_Help me!" The boy cried again. _

_Sirius looked at him with pleading eyes of his own. "I don't know you, I can't help you." The boy started crying again. "I'm so sorry." _

_------------------------------- _Real Life

Sirius lay still in bed, the house elves looking on fearfully. It had been a full day since their little master had been taken and Master Black had been found unconscious with a nasty gash and bump to match on his head.

They had cleaned up the area and taken Sirius to his own bedroom. From there one of the elves, who knew a bit more about medicine, had cleaned Sirius up a bit. But he'd been hit so hard that he did not regain consciousness. He almost appeared to be stuck in his own dreams and nightmares.

They could do nothing more than keep things up and wait for their master to wake up and find his godson.

------------------------------- _Dream_

"_I can't say I ever thought this would happen, eh, Sirius?" A teasing voice asked, sounding happy. At least someone could be feeling happy, because all Sirius felt was confusion. Hadn't he been talking to a little boy only moments ago? _

_Sirius turned to the voice, his mind only half aware of his surroundings. But the mental shock that came took care of what was left of his awareness. "James…" _

"_Yeah, who'd you think it was, Padfoot? Snape?" James asked, grinning. James turned away from him, walking back away from Sirius. They were outdoors, with leaves fall from trees all around them. _

_Sirius followed him, thinking just how happy he was to see his friend. But he always saw James, so why was then so special? "Where are we, James?" he asked, shaking himself from his own thoughts. He fell from his motorbike - that had to be why he was so confused. Maybe a prank had knocked him out for a bit. _

"_Don't you know, Padfoot?" James called, and then fell silent. After a second, he added more quietly. "No, you wouldn't, would you? You weren't there." _

"_I wasn't where?" Sirius asked, losing sight of James, as his friend had traveled faster than him. _

_James waited a while before answering. His voice came in a completely different place than where Sirius would have thought it would be. Where was James going? "You weren't there. Lily and I were so disappointed in you, Sirius. We trusted you, but you didn't come. You're still messing it all up, even now." _

_What his friend had to say threw Sirius off completely. What had he done to make James so angry? And Lily, why did that name sound so familiar? "James, where are you?" Sirius settled for asking when it became apparent that he was lost. James had gone to far ahead. _

"_You promised, Sirius!" James yelled, coming from the left of Sirius. He had been in front of him before. Sirius headed that way, before James's voice came again. "Why can't you just fix this?" he yelled, coming from behind him. _

"_James!" Sirius screamed, panic overcoming him. He had to find James. He just had to. If Sirius lost him now that would be it, he would never find James again. "James, where are you?" he called again. _

_A rat scampered past him, but Sirius didn't pay attention. All that was on his mind was helping James. He didn't have time to pay attention to what else was going on around him. "Come on, Prongs! I can't see you!" _

"_We trusted you with him, Sirius. I trusted you. You're messing up, Sirius. You have to work faster." James said, sounding to be right next to Sirius. But he wasn't, Sirius realized as he whirled around in a full circle. "You aren't doing good enough, but you can. He needs you Sirius." James continued, sounding far away. _

"_Who?" Sirius yelled, falling to his knees. All of the confusion was making his head hurt. His ears were ringing, but he still strained to hear James. "I'm sorry, James, I'll do what you want. I help whoever you're talking about, I will." He yelled into nothing. _

_There was no response to his pleas. The fearful panic clawed at him even more. "James, please, don't go where I can't follow!" _

_-----------------------------------_Real Life

Boo sat in the chair next to her Master's bed. Huge tears fell from her even larger eyes as she watched him thrash in the bed. They'd long since stopped trying to calm him, as they found that nothing could.

He yelled out for her other Master, Mr. Potter. But he was long dead, and now the only Potter they served was the little Master, but he was gone too.

Something horrible was happening in Master Black's nightmares, and Boo wished she could end it. He sounded so heartbroken as he begged Master James to stay with him. But it wasn't to be. This time, even in his dream, Master James had gone to the one place Master Black couldn't follow.

But he could follow the little Master, if he woke up. She frantically hoped that it would be soon, that Master Black would awake well enough to search for the little boy that they all loved so very much.

-----------------------------------_Dream_

_Sirius sat on the cold ground of the strange forest they were in. He had no way of knowing where he was. And he had no way of finding his own way out. He whished he'd paid attention to where he was going when James had led him in. His mind's lack of cooperation wasn't helping either. _

"_Padfoot." _

_At the sound of his nickname, Sirius spun around. Remus stood in front of him, smiling gently. He hardly looked to be a day over sixteen. Why was it that he and James had looked their ages, but Remus was younger? Sirius didn't want to make his head hurt more by contemplating it. "Remy, I didn't even hear you." Sirius told him, as if that really mattered. _

"_Well, marauders can be sneaky, you know that, Sirius." Remus returned with an easy smile. He held a hand out for Sirius to take, and he did just that. Once on his feet, he shut his eyes when the forest around him lurched and spun. "Okay there, Sirius?" Remus asked, sounding concerned. _

_Sirius opened his eyes and nodded. Had he really been dizzy a moment before? "I'm fine, got up to quick." He dismissed. _

"_No, that's not it. You're hurt." Remus stated firmly, and grabbed Sirius's shoulder, pulling him in a different direction. "You should really get your head looked at, but for now you'll have to deal with it." He said as he led Sirius somewhere. _

"_Is that your way of saying I'm crazy, Moony?" Sirius teased, overwhelmed with happiness at being able to talk to Remus again, really talk to him. He laughed, all at once very happy. "I missed you Remus." _

"_I missed you too, Siri. But you've got to go." Remus said sadly. If Remus was as happy as Sirius was to talk again, then why did he have to go? He didn't have anything to do. _

_But that wasn't true, he had to find James again. His original purpose came screaming back to him, and he stopped, turning to Remus frantically. "Remus! James, I forgot all about James. He was here, but he left. We have to find him." _

"_There's nothing we can do for James now, Sirius." Remus shook his head. He grabbed Sirius again and started pulling him. _

_But Sirius would not be pulled. If James was in the forest, then that was where Sirius would stay. "No, Remus. You don't understand, if we don't find him now we'll never find him again." He tried to explain. It almost made him scream when Remus appeared sad and resigned, not concerned. _

"_Like I said, Sirius, there's nothing we can do. There are more important things going on right now." Remus said, grabbing Sirius by the shoulders to get him to listen. "You need to get out of here, you need to get yourself going." _

"_Get out of where!?" Sirius yelled. _

_Remus shook his head. "Think Sirius. You're messing yourself up, because we all know that you're right for the job. James and Lily trusted you with this, and they did for a reason. Let it all go." _

"_Trust yourself, Sirius, and you'll be okay." Remus said finally. Sirius started to feel himself fade, but he didn't do anything to stop it. _

_-------------------------------_Real Life

Sirius woke with a start, throwing himself forward in bed. He was completely sitting up, breathing harshly. His entire head ached, something he became aware of all too quickly.

"Master Black, Master Black, you's is being awake!" Boo cried to his left. Sirius turned, squinting at the house elf as she peered as intensely at him as he was at her.

After a minute, the world stopped turning and Sirius fell back against the pillows. "Yeah, Boo, I is being awake." He informed the house elf. "What happened?" He asked, rubbing his head where it had been hit.

"Master Black has to go find the little Master!" Boo cried upon the confirmation that Sirius was okay. She looked fearful, as though something horrible had happened.

But as the memories rushed back to him, Sirius realized something had. _Harry_. His little godson had been kidnapped, taken away from him by the man that started all their troubles. Peter had returned.

And, all at once, that murderous rage that had taken him over on Halloween night returned tenfold. He could not let his godson be hurt.

Sirius jumped out of bed and ignored the dizziness that nearly overcame him. He would take care of that when Harry was safe back with him in their home. He would figure out what to do with Wormtail's knowledge of Emerald's Palace also. This was their home, and he wasn't going to give it up to the likes of Peter Pettigrew.

He dressed quickly, ignoring Boo's pop out of the room. He had plans to make. Remus had been right in his dream. He could save Harry.

He _would_ save Harry.

* * *

_I'll let everyone do up their own dream interpretations on that, instead of telling you what I had in mind. It's fairly obvious, so you're probably not confused or anything._

_I'm very sorry for the delay. Last week was dedicated to midterm study, and this week is the actual midterms. But, today is a snow day. _

_::Gets down on her knees to thank every deity she's ever heard of::_

_So, thank Mother Nature, because she's given me the opportunity to get this up for you guys. **Please, forgive the wait, and review**. I really love hearing from you all…give me something to get me through my remaining three midterms! _

_**Stars Enchantress **_


	20. In the Arms of Evil

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_In the Arms of Evil_

_

* * *

Hello and thanks so much to all of the reviewers. You all definitely helped during the hell of midterms. They're over now, obviously, and I've been both busy and lazy. But, your update has arrived, so enjoy!_

_This is supposed to be within day or two of the last chapter, just to give you an idea._

_**-Unknown-**_

Harry Potter had never known pain or fear. Save their day in Diagon Alley, he'd never been away from his loving godfather, and had never had a cause to be truly terrified. The worst injuries of his short life included a lightening bolt cut on his forehead and a few scraped knees.

He lived in a world that was safe and unthreatening. His home was his and no one else could ever corrupt it. His safety had never been an issue or a question in his mind, because he knew that no harm could come to him. He had a place of his own that was unknown to the rest of the world, and a godfather who would do anything possible to keep him happy, healthy and safe.

But as he sat in the cold dark room that he'd never seen before in his life, all those feelings shattered and faded away until Harry was sure that he would never be happy or safe again.

The man that had stolen him away was one he now recognized to be none other than Peter Pettigrew. Harry could tell it was him, he seemed so rat like that it was hard to miss. Sirius had even shown him a picture of the four marauders once before. It was almost scary just how far the man was caught between his teenage looks and a rat-like persona.

The rat in him was winning out.

Peter had all but dragged Harry by his hair to get him there. Harry had kicked, screamed and fought the whole way, but the man was bigger than him by far. They had apparated away, and then appeared before the house they were now in. It looked awful from the outside, but it had proven to be even worse inside. He had been thrown into the room that he now sat in and had been there for quite some time.

How long Harry did not know, the windows had been charmed shut so no light could get in, and Harry could not get out.

He had been crying for a long time, but now the tears seemed spent. He was hungry, as the man hadn't brought him anything to eat in a long time. And he was tired, because he couldn't sleep in this room, even if there was a bed. It had to have been someone's bedroom, though it was clear that it hadn't been used in a long time. The dust and cobwebs were thick in the air.

Harry was sitting in the far corner of the room, his little body tensely pressed against the wall with his knees drawn up. He had been there the entire time, never moving an inch or relaxing for even a second. It was the farthest away from the door that he could possibly get.

Never before in his life had he wanted to see Sirius more.

He wanted his godfather back. But he had seen Sirius fall when the piece of the ceiling had hit him over the head. Harry was more terrified for Sirius than he was himself. If Sirius had been hurt badly, who would be able to help him? There was no one else who would ever help Sirius after what they thought he'd done. That scared him beyond belief. He couldn't lose Sirius, he just couldn't.

His mind was coming up with elaborate fantasies about Sirius breaking down the door and grabbing him. They would run right through the hallways and get past Wormtail, because Sirius could beat him in a fair fight any day. Especially if it were to save Harry. Nothing else needed to happen, just so long as he got to leave the room and the house.

The house had something sinister about it - Harry could feel it.

He couldn't ever imagine someone living in something that felt of pure evil. If it were his home, he wouldn't have been able to sleep or even breathe easy inside of it. He would be afraid to be alone in such a house. It was nothing like his own home. Emeralds' Palace was good and bright and happy. There was nothing wrong or bad about it. It was his home, and he wished he could go back.

A creak sounded by his doorway, and Harry tensed up even further, if it were possible. The house regularly creaked and made all sorts of noises, but he still grew even more afraid each time.

This time he had a cause though, the door opened.

There was no light in the hallway, and Harry was sure that Wormtail saw so well because he had an animal's night vision. The man never said anything, and Harry never said anything much either. Through his squinting, Harry could make out the shape of a tray being held and then set down. There wouldn't be anything very good on it, just probably the same bit of bread and soup that Harry had rejected last time, it hardly passed for food.

It might have been food, but he didn't want to eat it, no matter how hungry he was. There could be something wrong with it. And former Marauder or no, Harry didn't think it would be as harmless as a prank waiting in his meal. There could be some awful poison that would kill him, or a bad potion that would make him tell everyone where Sirius was. And then their home would be discovered even more, and Sirius would be taken away. If he wasn't already dead, of course. Harry squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to stop the line of thinking that his mind was on.

When he opened his eyes, it seemed that Wormtail had turned to leave, but something in Harry made him speak. The thought of Peter having hurt Sirius so badly was ringing in his mind and filling him up with anger. He just hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for speaking. "Where are we?" he yelled, his little voice equal parts fierce and afraid. It trembled, and Harry hoped that Wormtail would interpret that shaking as anger, not fear.

The man stopped dead in his tracks. He looked shocked that Harry had spoken. Short of the screams of anger and resistance that Harry had thrown forward when he was being dragged to the house, he hadn't said a word. The man had probably never heard Harry's voice in a normal speaking way. He looked so surprised that Harry was sure that if he ran up and pushed Wormtail, he would fall forward like a pile of bricks. He managed to stop himself, however. Speaking was one thing, getting up and putting himself in striking range was quite another.

Slowly, the man turned around. Harry's eyes were getting better at making out his moving form, and as more time went by in the darkness, his eyes were getting more used to it. When he had first been put in there, it seemed that he was blind, everything was so dark.

Peter appeared to be contemplating responding to him. He actually looked a bit afraid of Harry. "You don't need to know." He settled on saying finally, his voice a mere squeak.

"Let me go home." Harry stated firmly with the stubbornness that only a child – more importantly, the child of Lily and James Potter – could posses. This man was afraid of _him_. Though Harry was still terrified, the thought helped him some. It was something he could hold on to, because everything else in his life was so uncertain at the moment, even Sirius.

Instead of answering that, the man stared at him a bit more before turning around to leave. Harry fought the urge to go after him. Before Wormtail reached the door, however, he stopped. Without turning, he muttered, "It won't matter why you're here soon enough."

Harry felt his eyes go wide as the air rushed from his lungs. He knew what that meant.

He knew _exactly_ what that meant.

_

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Short chapter, I know. The next one is much longer. In fact, I think you'll all rather like the next one._

_I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you think, also if anyone has an idea as to where they are. _

_**Stars Enchantress **_


	21. The Necklace

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_The Necklace_

_

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Hello, everyone, thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter. As promised, this chapter might just ease the pain a bit._

_Also, I owe one chocolate medal to scared-of-mimes. _

_**-Emeralds' Palace-**_

The house elves had once again restored the house to its normal shine, and this time Sirius hated it. In cleaning up the hallway where he had been hit and Harry had been grabbed, they'd effectively taken away all scents and any form of a lead that might have been there. He didn't mention that to them though, they would have been crushed to find such a thing out.

Sirius had spent every minute since waking up desperately trying to find his godson. But it was more than difficult when he had no idea where Peter had taken him. He had next to nothing to work with, but he tried anyway. He would die before he gave up on his godson.

As Padfoot, Sirius had traveled to any place that he could think of for Peter to go. He'd been to the Pettigrew Cottage, which seemed long since abandoned. There was no new scent there of Peter or Harry. He went to both Godric's Hollow, which was as destroyed as it was the last time he'd been there, but had no new traces of Peter, and the Potter Family Estate, which was dark and gloomy, nothing like the place that had been his home in his last few years of school.

From there, Sirius checked a few of other places that he could think of, but it soon became apparent that Peter wasn't hiding in any place that Sirius could think of him to go.

The longer time went by, the more desperate he became. After the week was out, he didn't stop for food or sleep. His entire being was consumed with the need to find his precious godson.

_**-Unknown -**_

Harry quietly rocked himself back and forth in his corner. He was curled up as tightly as he could. It had been hours since he'd seen Wormtail last, and as nice as that was, it scared him even more. He was so tired that his eyes ached with the need to close so he could fall asleep. But he held it off, refusing to sleep for even a few moments.

He rested his head on his knees, which were drawn up to his chest. That was the only relaxation he would allow himself. He could feel his necklace being pressed against his stomach through the material of his shirt. The five year old's imagination was running away with him, making the creaks of the house louder than they really were.

"Sirius…" Harry whispered, feeling more alone than he ever had before.

_**-Emeralds' Palace-**_

"_Sirius…" _

The animagus threw his head up, eyes wide and heart racing. He'd heard something. He had heard Harry, he was sure of it. Sirius looked around wildly, his eyes desperately searching the room. It seemed as though Harry were right next to him. He sounded so close.

Sirius stood up, the stuffed animal falling from his arms. His hair hung in his eyes and he again searched the room, finding nothing different as when he walked in. "Harry?" he cried, listening closely for an answer.

When nothing returned to him after a minute, Sirius let himself fall back on the bed. A tear leaked from the corner of his silvery eyes, and he never noticed the slight bit of heat radiating from the necklace that he'd found in the alley with Harry.

He sat heavily on his godson's bed, holding his stuffed dog tightly in his arms. He could almost pretend it was Harry he was holding. "I'll find you, Harry, I promise I will." He murmured to the air.

_**-Unknown-**_

The darkness and quiet of the room was sliced through with the little boy's harsh breathing. Sirius's voice rang in his mind, the one word – his name – echoing across his consciousness. "Sirius!" Harry said, whispering still as to not alert Peter to his godfather's presence.

Nothing returned his hopeful plea, and Harry realized it had just been his imagination. Sirius wasn't there, it was all in his head.

Never before had wishful thinking been so painful.

_"I'll find you, Harry, I promise I will."_

Sirius's voice came to him again, and this time Harry knew it wasn't his imagination. He could dream up the words, but not the grief stricken way they were said. But the voice seemed not next to him, but in him. The information was too confusing to put together. He was sure Sirius's voice was inside his mind, but it wasn't his own thoughts coming up with it.

Concentrating with full focus, Harry let his mind speak for him. "Siri?" he asked again, using his thoughts only.

_**-Emeralds' Palace-**_

Far away from the child, Sirius was coming to the same conclusion as he already had. He heard Harry clear as day in his head, but was it his longing for the boy to be home?

"_Sirius…please_." he heard again, Harry's voice sounding so completely heartbroken. He had to try, whatever it was that was going on, he had to use it to his advantage. He didn't' understand, but he didn't care much about that. It was Harry he was talking to.

"Baby, it's me. It's Padfoot." Sirius said aloud. The seconds turned to hours as he waited on baited breath for any sort of reply.

"_Padfoot?" _

Sirius nearly cried with joy. Harry had responded, and he was sure it was him. Sirius stood up and paced the room. "Harry, I can't believe this. Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, after getting over his initial shock.

Almost hesitantly, the response returned. _"I'm okay, can I come home now?"_ he asked quietly, as if Sirius would say no.

"Baby, I'm going to find you, I promise." Sirius whispered, walking back and forth through the room. He wracked his brain for anything that would clue him into where Harry was, but he couldn't think. Absentmindedly, Sirius reached up and fingered the necklace that he wore.

He stopped pacing.

The necklace, the only variable that had any significance. As connected as Harry and Sirius were, they did not share telepathy. Not on their own anyway. Hesitantly, Sirius pulled the necklace above his head, "Harry?" No answer returned to him. Quickly, he lowered the necklace back down and frantically tried again. "Harry?"

This time he was met with a near hysterical godson. "_Sirius_!" the little boy cried.

"I'm sorry, don't worry, it's all right." Sirius tried to soothe. "Harry, calm down. I need you to help me." He said, hoping a goal would give Harry something to concentrate on, rather than focusing on Sirius's almost disappearance.

He almost heard a mental sniff and fought a laugh. "_Okay, Padfoot_." Harry replied after a minute. He sounded shaky, but a lot better than he had a moment ago.

"Can you tell me what you see around you?" Sirius asked gently. He waited why Harry supposedly looked around him.

"_It's dark…and really dusty. I don't think anybody's lived here in a long time, Sirius_." Harry explained. "_It's somebody's bedroom though. The covers look like they were green though, a long long time ago_." Harry described. This wasn't exactly a whole lot to go by though. But the little boy wasn't finished. "_There's only two windows, and they're next to each other. There's a closet on the wall on the other side_."

Sirius nodded, trying to think of a room that he'd seen to fit that description. Anywhere that could fit that description, actually. "Is there any other furniture? Can you see outside?"

"_The curtains won't move_." Harry answered, proving that he'd already tried it, and that it was useless. "_There's lots of other furniture, it's a big room. But it looks really empty. Like there's supposed to be more stuff, but it all got taken away. Almost everything is empty, the bookcases, and the drawers, and the big chest with the 'B' on it-_"

Almost in shock, Sirius didn't hear what else was empty. He knew what else was empty in that room, he was the one to take things out. Harry wasn't describing some unknown location, he was describing Sirius's old bedroom in the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black.

_

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Kind of short, again, sorry. I hope you liked the chapter anyway. Let me know what you think of the necklaces. I thought they could be almost like the mirror that James and Sirius had. If anyone's confused about them, then let me know and I'll go over it in a author's note next chapter._

_Sorry for the long wait. I was on vacation, and then got sick. The wait for the next chapter won't take two weeks, I promise. _

**_Stars Enchantress _**


	22. Escapee

_**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Escapee_

_

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_

Hello, everyone, thank you all for the amazing reviews for the last chapter. I'm glad you're all pleased with the necklaces. For reference, Sirius and Harry find them right before Remus bombarded them in that alleyway in Diagon Alley (chapter fourteen, Discovered). You find out a teensy bit of info on them later on, perhaps, but I rather like the mystery of them appearing and Sirius and Harry having a pull to them.

_And also, there was a little confusion on how Peter knew of the house. I wouldn't think that Dumbledore would have become secret keeper to a house that was decrepit, run down and just plain evil unless he had a reason to, right? I don't think he did that until after Sirius offered it up as headquarters, and it's not yet. So Peter would know where it was, by virtue of his friendship with Sirius, and Dumbledore would not be the secret keeper, as he'd need Sirius's approval as the last living Black, along with a reason. Neither of which he has quite yet._

_By the way, guys, guess what? We're almost done here! After this chapter is over, we have about four left. _

_**-Outside Grimmauld Place-**_

Sirius knew the grounds perfectly even though it had been years since he had stepped foot on them. He had spent more times than he cared to count sneaking away from the house, usually in the dead of the night.

Although his mother was long dead, his father and brother also, the house was just as horrible as he remembered it. All of his life he had hated it, it had never truly been his home. When he left it, it was like a breath of fresh air. He'd vowed then to never return, but he would break that vow to save his godson.

Silently he weaved his way through the trees and brushes of the land, sneaking up to the house. It was dark inside, leaving Sirius to believe if he truly was crazy. But no one would leave lights on in a supposedly deserted house. Not even Peter.

He hated himself for bringing his friends to Black Manor when they were younger. It had been a short visit, for Potters were not welcomed in the house and hadn't been for centuries. They had slipped in quickly to retrieve his things to stay with the Potters for the last week of school. That was how Peter knew where it was, that was how he had found it again.

Wormtail knew well and full that Sirius hated the place, and that he would never willingly go back. But Peter underestimated how much he loved his godson.

He would _live_ there again if it meant Harry would he happy, safe and healthy.

With a whispered "Alohamora", the door was open. Waltzing in through the front door was risky, but he also knew it would be unexpected. Sirius was almost disturbed to find that he remembered every inch of the house, without thinking it through he was hopping over floorboards that creaked.

Sirius crept silently towards the stairs, but light under the doorway to the living room stopped him. He could hear hushed voices and prayed it was only Peter talking to himself.

That wish wasn't to be though.

A man's forceful voice was apart of the conversation, and it certainly wasn't Peter's. Sirius got a bit closer to the door and strained to listen in. It would be helpful to know whom Peter had with him in kidnapping Harry.

"I have him…you can help me."

"It's your fault that Master was almost destroyed! And now you dare to contact me for help?"

The angry voice of Lucius Malfoy rang in Sirius's ears. Damn Peter! It would be so much harder to slip away with Lucius in the area. He felt himself tensing up as Peter pleaded again.

"But Master will like the boy to be killed. You can help me with that. I have him."

The word master stumbled over Peter's tongue as though he were afraid of it. Unsurprisingly, Sirius found a sense of satisfaction in hearing Lily and James' betrayer tremble when he spoke of his _beloved master_.

"You're a coward, too cowardly to do this yourself, and too cowardly to ask me in person. Instead you firecall, so you can scamper away in case of my anger!" Lucius raged.

So Lucius wasn't in Grimmauld Place, Sirius smiled. Silently, he walked away from the door and back towards the stairs. Peter might have been the only one in the house then, but it could change at any second. As soon as Lucius was done screaming, he might end up agreeing to help Wormtail.

Sirius skipped the last step and went straight to the landing, that particular step groaned loudly at night when stepped upon for the mere reason of catching Sirius while he escaped. His father had charmed it to react to only him, and Sirius had been caught many times before he realized what gave him away. The memories that the house was inducing were nearly choking him.

Pushing all of his emotions down, Sirius rushed quickly down the hallway to his room. Harry was the only thing that mattered, the only thing he should be focused on.

He reached his door and silently cast the charm to open it just as he had done to the front door. It swung wide open to reveal his old room, looking dustier and darker than when he had left it.

His hopeful eyes swept across the room before landing on the slight movement coming from the corner.

There, curled tightly in a little ball, was his precious little godson.

Sirius rushed across the room and dropped to his knees in front of the child. "Harry." He whispered, his voice almost breaking.

A tearstained face looked up at him and Sirius's heart nearly shattered. Harry looked so lost and upset that he could scarcely breath.

"Sirius?" Was the only reply he was given. The boy looked at him as though he were a beautiful mirage that would fade away if he were to blink.

Unaware of the fact that he was crying, Sirius smiled at the little boy and nodded. Within seconds Harry had launched himself into his godfather's arms. Sirius held the little boy to him, finally feeling the ache inside him lessening.

"Shh…baby, it's all right." Sirius whispered, rubbing his hand in a circle on Harry's back. He rocked the little boy back and forth, murmuring words of love and comfort into Harry's ear.

All too soon the reality of the situation sunk back into Sirius's mind. Without letting Harry go, he picked the child up while he stood also. They would be home soon, it would all be all right again. "Come on, Emeralds, you need to stop crying. I'm here now, and we're going home. Shh."

Harry sniffed a final time before quieting. He wrapped his arms around Sirius's neck and buried his head against his chest. Quickly and quietly, Sirius retraced his steps out of the house.

They reached the stairs and flew down them as cautiously as they could. Harry didn't make a noise as they reached the front hallway. Sirius stopped at the bottom of the stairs and strained his ears. Peter was still pleading with Malfoy.

Sirius smiled as the door came into sight, they were so close. He tightened his hold on Harry as the boy made a little sniffling noise. So long as he wasn't too loud, they were all right, Peter would have been too far away for hearing such a quiet noise.

But that quiet noise was all it took.

A scream so loud that Sirius's ears hurt and a banshee would have winced exploded in the house. Eyes widened with horror, Sirius froze and looked to the now open curtains covering the painting beside them.

_Mum __

* * *

_

They were so close! Poor Sirius and Harry, their escape might not be so simple after all. But isn't that a nice cliffhanger?

_Let me know what you think of the chapter!_

_**Stars Enchantress**_


	23. Fiery Depths of Hatred

_**Harry Potter and the New Start: **Fiery Depths of Hatred_

_

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Hello everyone, and thank you to all of the reviewers for the last chapter and all of the chapters! I'm sorry for the delay on this. I generally like to go one chapter this story, then one chapter of my other story, to make sure one doesn't get more updates than the other. This, all well and good, also means that when I'm stuck for one, the other has to wait. That's exactly what happened this time, as I had a writer's block for the latest chapter of Return of the Father. So, sorry for the delay, and let's hope I can get things going more quickly this time around!_

_**-Black Manor-**_

How Wormtail managed to break the floo connection and rush out behind him so quickly would forever be a question in Sirius' mind.

All he knew, however, was his mother's screams of hatred had given them away, and what seemed like a mere second later, Peter Pettigrew was behind him, wand in hand, it's tip pressed against his head. "Hello, Peter." Sirius spat more calmly than he'd expected to manage.

"I thought y-you'd come, Sirius." Peter said from behind them. His voice trembled, and from the shaking that the wand was doing against Sirius's head, it was safe to say that Wormtail himself was trembling also.

Ever so slowly, Sirius let Harry slid down his body and onto the floor. It wouldn't do to have the little boy in front of him if they started to duel. He was taking no chances. Harry protested with the tiniest of whimpers, but otherwise said nothing. Sirius strongly suspected that Harry was just too afraid to make his voice really work. His godson latched a hand onto Sirius's robes as the older man started talking back to his former friend. "Of course I would." He agreed, "You stole my godson."

Wormtail didn't seem to have much to say. That was quite all right with Sirius though, for he still did. His mother's screams had faded away, as though she'd realized what was about to transpire.

Raising his hands in the air, in the vision of mock surrender, Sirius turned around slowly to face Peter. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't come to take him back?" he asked finally, his voice a low growl.

Peter looked as though he wanted nothing more than to go cower somewhere. To his credit, with the way that Sirius looked right then, even Albus Dumbledore would have been tempted to take a step back. His face was half obscured by the darkness, which only served to make him look that much more terrifying.

The look in his eyes was beyond murderous.

"Give him to m-m-me, Sirius!" Peter squeaked, gesturing to Harry with his hand – the one missing a finger. "Or I'll hex you!"

Sirius pushed Harry further behind him, so only the side of the little boy's head could be seen watching the two former best friends. "Touch him again, and you'll be down a few more fingers." He added his own threat.

This seemed to scare Peter far more than his threat of hexing had done to Sirius. The look in his eyes begging to hide intensified. Sirius found he had no mercy for the _thing_ in front of him.

Whatever feelings of love and friendship that he'd had towards Peter Pettigrew had died the same day that James had.

The hatred that had clouded his judgment that Halloween returned tenfold, so much so that had Sirius been aware of it, he would have even frightened himself. But Sirius didn't sense it, he only saw red in front of him, he only felt the rage coursing through him.

If Harry noticed, he didn't let on. He whimpered, but whether that was because of the situation or his godfather's personality change, Sirius didn't know.

It was likely that not even Harry knew for sure what he was so afraid of.

The person who noticed Sirius's focused hatred most was Peter. He backed away, realizing that he wouldn't leave the house alive if Sirius started throwing curses, which he looked seconds away from doing. He made the mistake of speaking. "Si-irius…please…I-I…"

The words – the pleading tone of the sniveling rat – snapped Sirius from whatever vision of rage he was in. "Shut your mouth." He hissed, his voice neither quiet nor loud.

Snapping his mouth shut, Peter realized his error. Sirius took a threatening step forward, closing the gap. "Were you just asking for mercy? Was that what you were planning on stuttering out?" Sirius asked, sneering. "You dare to take my godson away from me - just like you stole his father too – and you expect _compassion_?"

Peter shook his head back and forth, though it was more reflex than an attempt to answer Sirius.

The blue-eyed man paid it no mind though. "In this moment, Peter, Voldemort would have been more compassionate." He said with finality, raising his wand.

The words to end Peter's life came across Sirius's lips with remarkable ease. Only after they had left his mouth did Sirius realize that the green light racing towards Peter could scare Harry into remembering a similar light racing towards _him_. Sirius leaned down quickly and hid Harry's eyes in his should, but kept his own open. He wasn't letting himself miss the rat's execution for anything.

The green spell seemed to take forever to reach Peter. Wormtail seemed frozen until the last second when he transformed suddenly, evading death just as he had years before.

Sirius practically screamed from anger and sent spells hurtling at the scurrying rat. "_Stupefy_!" he yelled, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

None of the spells hit Peter though. Realizing that Peter had gotten away, Harry started to cry again into Sirius's side. The sounds of his godson's fear and distress strengthened Sirius's resolve to get the rat.

"_Stupefy! Immobulus!" _he yelled, finally just thinking up spells to cause any damage at all.

"_Incendio_!"

The others had just harmlessly hit the wall when they missed, but this spell, this one hit the wall less than harmlessly. The spell hit the wall right before where Wormtail was running.

Flames instantly lit on the ground and started to travel up the wall itself.

Peter, in shock and a fleeting moment of intelligence, knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself as a rat, though he could stop in time as a human. As quickly as he'd transformed the first time, Wormtail transformed back to Peter in front of Sirius's eyes.

Forced to back away from the quickly growing flames, Peter found himself closer to Sirius than comfort allowed. "The house…it's going to burn."

"Brilliant observation, Peter." Sirius stated quietly, pulling Harry into his arms. "_Expelliarmus_!" He yelled with no warning.

Caught by surprise, Peter did nothing as his wand flew out of his hands and into Sirius's. Peter made a move as if to rush Sirius and get his wand back, but he stopped short in fear. Turning quickly, he tried to rush out the front door, but the fire had inflamed the area too badly for escape. Black Manor's old structure and walls were quickly becoming filled with flame.

As much as Sirius would have loved to watch Peter suffer, the flames were traveling faster than he'd ever thought they were. Without the magic of a family inside of the building, the arsenal of spells protecting it were failing, and had probably been doing so for a year at least.

He had to get Harry out of the house and back to the safety of their home. But first, he had to make their home safe again. Pointing the wand at Peter, who was currently whirling around in a circle to try to decide what his best course of action would be, Sirius muttered. "_Obliviate Mensis_!"

Peter's eyes rolled back into his head for a second with the force of the spell. Sirius knew it would be powerful enough to erase the month, as it was intended to do. Peter collapsed to the floor, and Sirius knew that he would be out for a long time.

Quite a bit longer, actually, once the smoke fully overcame him. And once the smoke kept him unconscious, the flames would do the rest.

Peter Pettigrew would never open his eyes again.

Harry's terrified sobs rang in his ears, and suddenly, Sirius didn't want to watch Peter die. He wanted to go home. "It's all right, Harry, we're going. Don't be afraid, nothing will ever touch you again." Sirius muttered, unsure if Harry would hear him over the roar of the flames.

The little boy didn't respond, but merely tightened his hold over Sirius as his godfather ran back through the house and out the back door.

They didn't turn back to look at the burning house, and they didn't give a spare thought to the man inside it.

_

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I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm sorry again that it took so long. We have CAPT testing all this week (a standardized test for Connecticut sophomores that must be passed or you don't graduate) and next week, along with some insane about of science homework/projects/packets/tests. That, and it will be Return's turn for an update. So, we're looking at a bit of a wait for the chapter again, unless of course I'm struck with inspiration too great to ignore, which could happen._

_Please, let me know how you liked the chapter! We're getting very close to the end. I actually lost my outline (last time I write one down instead of typing it out!), so I'm flying a little blind now. But I do know what the last three chapters will be, __essentially, so we should be fine._

_Oh, and "Mensis" means month in latin. So basically, Peter's memory ofthe last month is gone. _

_**Stars Enchantress**_


	24. In the Arms of Safety

**Harry Potter and the New Start:** _In the Arms of Safety_

_

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Hello everyone. Thank you so much to all of the reviewers for the last chapter. This is it, guys, this chapter, the next, and then the final chapter. Three! Can you believe it?_

_This takes place the morning after the last chapter. _

_-------------------------------**Emeralds' Palace**_

"Sirius!"

The childlike scream tore at Sirius's heart as he ran back into his godson's room. How many more times through the night would Harry wake up screaming? Since he'd put his little godson to bed six hours earlier, he'd woken up almost every hour. It was morning now, but the boy had gotten little to no peaceful sleep.

Sirius had only left for a moment, only to change his clothes into something else. As he pulled open the door to Harry's room, he was clad solely in a pair of well-loved jeans. Of course, this was normal attire.

When would things return to normal?

Harry sat up in bed, tears streaming from his terrified emerald eyes. "Sirius!" he cried again, holding his arms out to be held.

Obliging his godson instantly, Sirius pulled Harry to him the moment he was sitting on the bed. "Shh, baby, it's all right. We're home now. No one will hurt you here." He whispered, calming Harry as he'd done every time before.

How valid or truthful his last statement was to Harry, he wasn't sure.

There was no way that Peter, if he was still alive, could harm Harry or himself. He wouldn't know where to find them anymore - the memory charm had taken care of that.

They had been foolish to repeat the name of their home out loud outside of its confines. It was a mistake that he would never make again.

He also wouldn't take Harry from the safety of their home again anytime soon. But before he did, he would make damn sure that they were clear on never mentioning the worlds "Emeralds' Palace" in the world again.

Sirius kept rocking Harry back and forth, knowing that the little boy would calm and fall asleep again. It had been their pattern all night long.

Harry sniffed against Sirius's chest, crying still. Instead of falling asleep, however, the little boy looked up with sad eyes. Sirius wanted more than anything to go back in time and change things so his godson wouldn't have had to go through all that. It broke his heart to see Harry like this. "Go back to bed, Emeralds, I'll be here when you wake up." He promised, berating himself for leaving at all in the first place.

"I don't want to." Harry returned, shocking Sirius. He hadn't said anything since they'd returned, with the exception of Sirius's name. Though he was happy that Harry was talking again, it still hurt that the first thing that he said was essentially that his nightmares had gotten so bad that he no longer wanted to sleep.

Sighing, Sirius shifted them so he was lying on the pillows and Harry was laying on him. "I know you're scared, Harry, but you can't stop sleeping. I know you're tired." He said gently.

"No." Harry firmly repeated, burrowing his face in Sirius's neck. Whether he was denying sleep or being tired, or just the whole thing in general, Sirius wasn't sure.

Heart breaking all the more, Sirius pulled Harry's head from its hiding place, "Look at me, Harry." He said, gently commanding. If he'd used any harsher a tone, he wouldn't have been sure that Harry could have handled it. "We're safe." He said simply. "That's all there is to it, no one will hurt you again."

Harry didn't say anything at all for a moment. He just looked at Sirius, his green eyes searching Sirius's blue ones. He seemed to be looking for any lies or deceit in his godfather's eyes, as though Sirius wouldn't tell him the truth of this.

After a moment, though, he seemed to find nothing that didn't support his claims to safety. Harry dropped his head down, "He'll come back." Harry whispered with the voice of a lost little boy.

"No, he won't." Sirius countered, "He…he's dead, Harry."

Sirius wasn't sure how Harry would deal with that statement. Though the deaths of his parents were a shadow in their lives, and the reason they were together locked away from the world, it wasn't something that Harry had dealt with at all in his life.

It was still the surreal concept that didn't quite make sense to him, just as it was for all small children.

Staying quiet a moment, Sirius let Harry process the information. Or rather, the confirmation of what Harry already knew to be a possibility. After a second, Harry responded, doubt clouding his voice. "How do you know?"

"He was knocked out, Harry, and the fire was going strong by then." Sirius gently explained. He wasn't going to draw out the image of Peter being burned to death for the little boy, but if Harry asked, he'd be more specific.

Thankfully, he didn't. "How do you know?" he asked again. "You didn't see…he might still be…" he rushed on, getting upset. He looked as though the tears would overcome him again, but Sirius quickly pulled the little boy back down to him.

"No, no, baby, don't worry. It doesn't matter. I cast that spell on him. If he lived, then he won't remember us being here or anything." He soothed, hoping Harry would understand that he'd never see Peter Pettigrew again. "It's okay, Harry, shhh, don't cry."

Harry trembled at the thought of Peter finding his way back to them again, and Sirius held him all the tighter. "No one will separate us again." He whispered fiercely. He knew it was a lie, he knew that he couldn't be with Harry his whole life. There were things that Harry had to do in his life that Sirius couldn't hold his hand for.

One thing he could promise, and did promise himself right then, was that he would get his godson as far as he could. And when the battles were over, when the experiences that Sirius couldn't walk him through were done, he would be there. He would be the one to talk to Harry, to help him accept what had happened, to help him heal.

After a few minutes, Harry calmed enough for Sirius to pull him back up to see his face, though Harry resisted, clearly wishing to stay hidden. "Harry, do you understand what I said?" he asked.

The boy didn't respond. Sirius felt his heart constrict again at Harry's silence. Instead of forcing him to talk, which Sirius felt would only make things worse for Harry, he answered his own question. "Peter is dead, Harry. And even if he isn't, and I doubt he survived, his memory was modified with a powerful charm. He won't remember ever seeing us. He doesn't know where we live. He doesn't know what you look like. That's it Harry, he's gone. One way or another, he's gone."

Harry didn't respond, and Sirius wished he would. He wished that Harry would look up smiling and accept that things were all right again. He wished they _were_ all right again.

He knew that wasn't the case though.

Things wouldn't be the same ever again. A piece of Harry's innocence had been stolen, a piece that would never be reclaimed. Harry wouldn't be as carefree as before.

The way he thought of their hiding would change. No longer would it be one big game of hide and seek to him, now it was survival. Harry now knew what would happen if they were found, he knew the risks and how important it was to be careful.

Sirius wished that wouldn't be the case. He wished his godson would always stay just as innocent as he was before Peter had interrupted and smashed their peaceful lives.

But that wish was just as impossible as his hope for time travel.

Harry was growing up, he was finding out that the world wasn't as pretty as their little corner of it. Things outside the barriers of Emeralds' Palace weren't nice or easy. The wizarding world was still fearful of Voldemort, and they were still fearful of Sirius.

There were aspects of human nature that Harry knew nothing of yet. He certainly didn't know of want, for Harry had everything he wanted, a fact that Sirius had made sure of. He didn't know of cruelty or deceitfulness, of using someone for your own person gain, he knew nothing of evil, jealousy, vanity or selfishness.

And not one month ago, he knew nothing of true fear.

Wormtail had changed that. He took a little boy who had nothing more to be afraid of than early bedtimes or pranks and made him afraid to see for the fear of being stolen away from everything he knew. Harry feared other people now. Harry feared the outside world. The one time Sirius had taken him out into it, his perceptions had been challenged and just plain changed.

There was no way that things were returning to the way they had been before. The truth of that hurt Sirius, but not nearly as much as it was hurting Harry.

He knew though, that things wouldn't always be this terrible.

The fear would fade with time, until the kidnapping was just a horrible memory.

The fear of people would give way to intense shyness and reluctance to trust instantly.

The fear of the outside world would soon become apprehension of leaving their safe little home and joining his peers at school.

And bit-by-bit, Harry's innocence would change into something else. Something that would serve him later when it came time for him to fulfill his role in the war.

His little godson would become a brave hero one day, he knew it.

But until that day came, Harry Potter was just a little boy trembling in his godfather's arms. The pain in him would grow less as Harry became stronger. Until that day came, however, he would have his godfather leading him every step of the way.

Sirius hadn't been able to protect him from the horrors of what had happened, but he would be there to help him through the horrors of surviving it, and what that meant. He would be right there to hold him after nightmares, and reassure him when the memories swirled back up.

Holding his godson just a bit tighter as the boy fell back asleep, Sirius wondered if Harry growing up would always be this scary to him.

At least, though, Harry and Sirius had survived this particular tragedy.

* * *

_I may have gone just a bit too deep into philosophical meaning of growing up, but I suppose it's all right. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!_

_**Two** to go, guys. _

_Please, let me know what you think! _

_**Stars Enchantress**_


	25. What's Lost is Found Then Lost Again

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_What's Lost is Found Then Lost Again_

* * *

_Hello all, thanks so much for all of the reviews! I think I'm as sad as you guys are about this story rolling to a close! This was my first Harry Potter story ever! Well…we'd best get on with it._

_This is pretty much meanwhile to the last chapter_

_------------------------------**Black Manor **_

"Dumbledore, what do you think could have caused this?" Remus asked from the older wizard's side.

The two – and countless aurors and ministry employees – surveyed the damage done to the Black family home. The place was mostly still intact and fine. In fact, the house's back rooms were completely unharmed. The front hall and some surrounding rooms were quite burnt though. Since the house was technically Sirius's Black's still, the best the ministry could do was clean it up a bit – make sure no flames were still in it – and leave.

On top of that, there were enough rumors about the place that made the ministry just want to leave it alone.

The ministry had been alerted to the fire after it had gotten out of hand. They had immediately come to the scene and put it out. A search for the culprit had started, but nobody expected anything. The only real reason they would have even stuck around as long as they had was to see if Black had anything to do with it.

They found nothing to support the claim that Sirius Black had been there, not his magical signature – which was impossible for his wand was still locked away in a ministry store bin somewhere – or any fragment of evidence that would support the idea that Black had been near or involved in the fire.

Remus wasn't sure if he was relieved or not.

What they did find, shockingly enough was a person. Not a corpse, as many would have guessed, but a real live – burnt – person. No one was sure if he had been the one to set the fire, so the search continued. The person, he hadn't woken up to tell anyone who he was, had been moved to St Mungo's. Quietly, Dumbledore relayed that fact to Remus, who had come the second he'd found out that it had been a fire at _Sirius's_ childhood home.

"He hasn't woken up once?" Remus questioned, feeling bad for whoever it was. The ministry was fairly certain it wasn't Sirius, and it was too big a person by far to be Harry.

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, he has not. The St Mungo's employees want me to come down there to his room and see if he looks like a student I might remember." Dumbledore explained. He started walking away from the house, Remus trailing next to him. A question was coming, and Dumbledore knew it.

"Might I join you?" Remus asked, sparing a look at Dumbledore instead of navigating through the throngs of ministry employees. "I might be able to help."

Nodding in place of voicing approval, Dumbledore quietly added, "And you might be curious about any of Sirius's involvement."

Remus, however, chose to say nothing.

_**------------------------------St Mungo's **_

Peter Pettigrew was ever so slowly waking up. His whole body ached, especially his head. What was worse, however, was the burning of his skin.

No memories came to tell him what had happened. He didn't remember a thing of how something like this could have happened to him; he was still supposed to be in that sewer that he'd fallen asleep in.

Wherever he was, it smelled too clean to be a sewer, and the bed beneath him was too comfortable.

The moment he realized he wasn't in a sewer, he darted up in bed. His beady eyes opened, and he reached the horror filled realization that he was sitting in St. Mungo's in plain view of everyone. Frantically, he looked down at his own hands to see them burnt and pink with new skin.

That was it. They didn't recognize him because he'd been burned. Now, however, they had fixed him up and skin was coming back new. It would only be a matter of time.

Why was he at St. Mungo's? Why didn't he remember what had happened? Panic gripped at him, all because he couldn't remember how he'd come to be this way.

Either way, though, all that mattered was getting out of the hospital without anyone seeing him.

The problem was that no self-respecting nurse would let a burn victim just walk out of a hospital in the middle of treatment. How would he slip past the doctors? His mind was a jumble, he was coming up with stupid plan after stupid plan.

His door opened, what would he do? Peter felt his breath coming out in short gasps, and he threw himself back down on the bed, hoping his face was still marred enough to hide his identity.

He heard the footsteps of two people, then voices.

The breath rushed out of him.

Nurses.

They were only nurses. The two talked above him, and Peter wanted them to hurry up so he could think again. Quietly, he listened. "The ministry has no idea who the poor bloke is!"

"I know, but we should sort that out soon enough." The second nurse said, feeling Peter's forehead for a fever, he fought the urge to flinch away.

"What do you mean?" Peter found himself internally thanking the first nurse for asking his question for him.

The hand was pulled from his forehead as its owner sighed, "Professor Dumbledore is on his way. If that man went to Hogwarts in the last fifty, sixty years or so, he might remember him."

Dumbledore! If Dumbledore came then everything would be over. They would know that it had been him to betray Lily and James to Voldemort, not Sirius. They would know that he'd blown up all those muggles on the street, framing Sirius when he sped away as a rat…

His thoughts trailed off with that single sentence. The nurses faded to the background, talking a medical speak that he wouldn't have understood anyway. A rat. How could he have been so absentminded as to forget his animagus form? He would wait until they were gone, and then transform. He'd have no problem running away as a rat.

"Dumbledore should be here soon." The nurse said as the two filed out of the room. Peter knew he had to act fast. He stood up and got out of bed quickly. Opening the door slightly, he didn't give a second thought before he transformed.

He sped away, past he nurses and the mediwizards. He didn't pay any mind to the patients. He had to get away.

If Dumbledore saw him, he wouldn't need more than a second to connect the dots.

Peter Pettigrew raced out of St. Mungo's, taking with him the only chance that Sirius Black had of being cleared for quite some time.

* * *

_I bet you were all starting this chapter with such hope! It's not my greatest, but I wasn't feeling too charitable towards little Peter, and I think it showed. **One** chapter to go guys! You'll see how things end soon. This chapter was more to show what everyone else thought of the fire, and what happened to Peter. Sirius and Harry will return next chapter!_

_Let me know what you think!_

**_Stars Enchantress _**


	26. Healing

**Harry Potter and the New Start: **_Healing_

_

* * *

Thank you to all of the amazing reviewers who have continued to review and give feedback from start to finish. I want you to all know how much I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions throughout this story. This is my first Harry Potter story ever, and you were all so welcoming and kind. I'm sorry to say that this chapter marks the end of Harry Potter and the New Start. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as I have writing it. Again, thank you._

**_When you finish reading, take the extra second to read the author's note at the end. And after, please review for old time sake? _**

_This chapter takes place one month after the events at Black Manor._

_-----------------------------Emeralds' Palace_

"Sirius! Sirius come on, you said we'd go out after lunch!" The five year old cried.

Sirius watched his godson with an affectionate gaze. He gave out a pretend groan, which he knew the little boy saw through, and slowly made his way to his feet. Harry would have none of that though. Not when he'd been promised broom practice.

A small hand tugged his own towards the outdoors. Harry's smile was as wide as it could go, and if there was any truth to that old wives tale about it getting stuck that way, then Harry was in for sore cheeks the rest of his life.

At one point Sirius had been afraid he would never see his godson smile like that again.

Slowly but surely though, that had changed. Harry had started healing after his kidnapping. He smiled and laughed more, he slowly stopped clinging to Sirius at every turn, and he could sleep with the lights off. Things weren't exactly as they'd been before, nor did Sirius expect them to ever get there again. But Harry was getting better, and that was all that mattered to him.

Once the door in front of them had been thrown open, Harry had released his hand and ran out towards the middle of the field, his broom clutched in his hands. Once Sirius had given him the basics on broom operation and safety Harry hadn't needed much help. He was a natural in the air. James would have been proud, Sirius certainly was.

"Watch me, Siri!" the little boy cried, mounting the broom.

As if Sirius could have actually been able to tear his eyes away from the little boy he loved more than life itself. He had really been too close to losing his precious godson, he would never let the little boy be taken from him again.

_**-FLASHBACK-**_

_"Sirius?" Harry asked, keeping his eyes to the ground._

_The man in question looked down to his godson. Seeing his apprehensive stance, Sirius knelt in front of him so they were at the same level. Gently, he reached a hand out to bring Harry's face back up so his eyes weren't to the ground. "Hmm, Emeralds?" _

"_If Wormtail," the child started, swallowing hard after repeating the name of his kidnapper, "If he knew where we were, then why doesn't anyone else?" _

_Sirius sighed, answering this question with the same patience that he had every other one before it. "Do you remember when we went to the aurors?" Sirius asked needlessly, for he knew how much that memory of the people who would throw him away in Azkaban without a second thought affected Harry, "And then we went to the side so I could calm you down?" _

_Harry nodded, remembering what had happened. _

"_I told you to say Emerald's Palace when I was convincing you that they could never get me. Peter was there, he heard you and he knew how to come here." Sirius explained, as he had before. Harry needed to hear it again and again, but Sirius didn't mind at all. _

_Again, all his statements received, was a nod. "But baby, no one else knows about this place. No one. Nobody's going to come in here and take you or me away again."_

_Something sparked in Harry's eyes, though for one of the first times ever, Sirius wasn't sure what it was. Fear? Relief? He wasn't sure. Pressing on regardless, Sirius added, "Harry, listen to me." He directed gently, taking Harry's shoulders into his hands, "You can't ever – EVER – say the name of our home out loud anywhere but here again. All right, Emeralds? Can you promise me?" _

"_I promise." Came the solemn vow. _

_-**END FLASHBACK-** _

Sirius knew for a fact that Harry understood what was at stake if he did mention their home again, and he knew that alone was enough to deter the boy from doing so. A day would come where Harry would find his own best friend, someone he could trust as much as James had trusted Sirius, and Harry would tell that boy. Then, he would find his own wife, and tell her too. But those days were a long ways into the distance, and for now, the promise was needed.

"Sirius!" Harry called. Instantly, the protective godfather broke from his thoughts to turn to where Harry had been last spotted. When he didn't see the boy there, panic ensued.

Before his mind had much time to catch up with the fact that his godson was nowhere in sight, giggling emerged from above him. Stopping dead in his tracks and completely abandoning the third complete circle he had been making, Sirius looked up.

And there, flying right above his head was a grinning Harry. The smile on the boy's face was so bright and complete that he knew Harry's fears would soon be over.

Playing along, and also because suddenly he felt much better, Sirius teased, "And pray tell how you got up there?" He asked, looking up.

Harry leaned out further from his broom, "I flew!" he cried, as though Sirius couldn't have guessed himself.

"And so you did." Sirius said, smiling. Pretending to let the smile fall from his face, Sirius threw himself into a look of mock contemplation. "Oh dear, this means I'll have to guard from attacks from above now!"

Harry laughed again, "You wait 'till I get some more blue dye, Padfoot!" He cried.

Pretend worry soon changed into the real thing. "You wouldn't!" he called up. The last thing he wanted was for Harry to dye any part of Sirius's body blue again – or any other color for that matter.

Harry leaned far enough over to stick his tongue out at Sirius in clean view, "I would!" he called back.

Sirius opened his mouth in outrage, then to himself – but loud enough for the little boy to hear, he grumbled, "The nerve…blue dye…I'm far too old for blue dye. That little…"

Hearing his godfather continue in such a teasing manner made Harry's whole body shake in convulsions. He brought his hands up from where they'd been clutching the handle of the broom to his mouth to cover up his smile while Sirius continued on.

Harry managed to keep a semblance of composure until Sirius suddenly changed modes and brightly announced that blue dye would compliment his eyes nicely. This sent the five year old into a fresh break of hysterics – so powerful he fell right off his broom.

"Oomph!" Sirius grunted as his arms were suddenly filled with his still laughing godson. Now, instead of looking up at the boy, he was looking down at him. "Hello there." He greeted.

Sheepishly, Harry smiled and gave a little wave. "Hi." He rushed to continue before Sirius started in on the tenth broom safety lecture in the last few days. "Fly with me!"

"And if I fly with you," Sirius started, already picking up his godson's fallen broom, "Who will be on the ground to catch you when you fall?"

Harry pouted, though he needn't do so. Sirius was already mounting the broom, holding Harry securely in front of him.

He kicked off and listened with a grin as Harry yelled out his delight at Sirius going higher than Harry was allowed to go by himself.

Yes, Sirius thought, they would most certainly be all right.

_---------------------------------The Burrow_

Nine-year-old Percy Weasley was more than annoyed. His twin brothers had taken his book and thrown it in the attic, knowing that Percy was afraid of the ghoul. How would he get it back? Before he could have gotten Charlie to do it, but now his brother was in Hogwarts, as was Bill. Now he would have to wait until his father got home.

Of course, Percy realized with a smile, Ron would probably go get it for him. As long as the task didn't involve spiders, his five-year-old brother wouldn't be scared. He couldn't ask Ginny though, even if she wasn't afraid of the ghoul, because that would just be too embarrassing. Asking your baby brother was one thing, asking your baby sister was quite another.

Why did Mum and Dad have to have the twins? They were only ever causing problems! Percy sat down heavily, leaning against his favorite tree. The twins hadn't found it – yet – so he would finally find a moment of peace.

Percy was still contemplating what to do about his attic problem when something small caught his eye. Leaning to the side of the tree, he squinted to see the little thing in front of him.

"A rat." Percy whispered. He wasn't sure the thing was alive though. It truly looked horrible. It's fur was half gone, with shiny pink skin showing instead – it looked as though the poor little thing had gotten too close to a fire somewhere. The rat was thin, looking to be underfed.

Crawling forward, Percy loomed over the injured animal. "Hello…" he whispered, not at all finding it stupid that he was speaking with a rat. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Of course, the rat did not answer. Percy leaned in again, waiting to see any sign of life. He held his breath, staring at the creature's chest. Finally, after what seemed like all day, the smallest of movements occurred. The rat was alive.

As gently as a little boy could manage, Percy lifted the animal into his arms. Once the rat was securely in his hold, Percy ran off towards the house, his book forgotten.

"Mum!"

* * *

_There ends the story. Again, thank you all so much for your time reading (and in some cases reviewing) this story. Also, please remember, that while this might not be the age that Percy got Scabbers, this is an AU story, so things can bend a bit._

**PLEASE READ:**

_There have been a lot of questions regarding a sequel to this. I have left the door open for a sequel, and I do in fact know what I would want it to be. I am not averse to writing one. The one thing is, that with school coming to a close and finals looming, I would really like to have the remainder of the school year free to only have obligations to one story. I think dealing with all those stupid end of the year projects (two have already made themselves known, I am sad to say that I think more will be announced soon – damn teachers!) and having two stories would be a bit much. As it was this whole month I've had a hard time (I am sorry for the wait this chapter had – sickness and school got in my way). _

_So, the real question of the matter is up to you guys. **I can and would write the sequel, BUT it would not come out until late-June. If you are all willing to wait until then for one, then please say so in your review of this last chapter.** I'll be sure to keep people updated on the subject in my profile. Whichever you want, guys, just let me know. _

_I can't stress this enough – THANK YOU!_

_-Star_

_(Come on, you know you wanna give the final chapter a review!)_


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